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THE 
PHENOMENA AND DIOSEMEIA 



A RAT US 



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THE 



PHENOMENA AND DIOSEMEIA 



OF 



ARATUS, 



TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH VERSE, WITH NOTES, 



BY 



JOHN LAMB, D.D. 

MASTER OF CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, 
AND DEAN OF BRISTOL. 




UavO' 'Hyrjcnava^ re kcli 'Epfiimros ra Kar aldprjv 

Tetpea, Kai 7roXXot ravra cpaivo/xeva 
Bt/3Xois iyKaredevTO' aixoaKOTTioL §' dcpapaprow 

AAAA TO AEIITOAOrOY 2KHHTPON APAT02 EXEI. 



LONDON : 
JOHN W. PARKER, WEST STRAND. 



M.DCCC.XLVIII. 






Page 40, line 200, for Cythia read Cynthia. 



THE 
LIFE OF ARATUS, 



WHEN Cilicia, in the days of Cicero*, boasted of 
being the birth-place of the Poet Aratus, there 
was reserved for her a far higher honour, the giving 
birth to one of the noblest of mankind, if true nobility 
consist in the power of benefiting the human race, 
and in the exercise of that power to the greatest 
extent by the most unexampled self-denial. Soli, the 
native city of Aratus, was not far distant from Tarsus, 
the birth-place of St Paul; and the fame of the 
heathen Poet has been considerably enhanced by a 
passage from his writings having been quoted by his 
countryman, the christian Apostle. One biographer 
indeed states that Aratus was a native of Tarsus, 
and he is occasionally called Tarsensis; but the 
more probable opinion is, that he was born at Soli, 
and he is commonly called Solensis. The date of 
his birth is about 260 years before the Christian 
sera. The names of his parents were Athedonorus 
and Letophila, they were persons of some conse- 

* Cicero was Proconsul of Cilicia a. it. o. 702. In his youth he 
had translated the poems of Aratus into Latin Hexameters. 
1 



2 LIFE OF ARATUS. 

quence and rank in their native city. His father had 
distinguished himself as a warrior. The Greek scho- 
liast speaks of him as entcpavods ical kv woXefKo api- 
GrevaavTos. One of his brothers was known as a clas- 
sical scholar, and broke a lance in defence of Homer 
with the unhappily famed critic Zoilus*. Aratus was 
brought up by his parents to the profession of a phy- 
sician, and consequently enjoyed the advantages of a 
liberal education, the foundation of which might pro- 
bably have been laid at Tarsus, then rising into renown 
and eminence as a school of philosophy, and shortly 
rivaling those of Alexandria and Athens ; and hence 
he might obtain the title of Tarsensis. It was, how- 
ever, at Athens, the celebrated seat of literature and 
science, that the Poet completed his education. Here 
he became the pupil of Menedemus, and of Persseus 
the Stoic. In the latter the young student found 
not only a tutor, but a patron and friend. Persseus 
was in high estimation with Antigonus, sirnamed 
Gonatas, at that time king of Macedonia*]*; and upon 

* "Hoc uno facinore nobilitatus, quod Homerum ausus sit 
reprehendere." (Hofm.) 

t Antigonus II. or Gonatas, was the great grandson of Anti- 
gonus, Alexander's general. Antigonus intrusted to Perseeus the 
defence of the citadel at Corinth, from which the philosopher fled 
when it was stormed by Aratus of Sicyon. Plutarch gives the 
following anecdote. Some time after, when Persseus was amusing 
himself with disputations in philosophy, and some one advanced 
this position: "None but a philosopher is fit to be a general:" 
" It is true," he said, " and indeed, this maxim of Zeno once pleased 
me more than all the rest, but I changed my opinion, when I was 
better taught by the young Sicyonian." 



LIFE OF ARATUS. 3 

receiving a summons from his royal patron to repair 
to his court in Macedonia upon the celebration of 
his nuptials with Phila, a daughter of Seleucus, he 
took with him his pupil, and introduced him to Anti- 
gonus, who was proud of being considered the patron 
of learned and scientific men. The young Poet no 
doubt employed his muse in celebration of this festive 
event, having already distinguished himself by an ode 
to Pan. Either by his poetical talents, by his skill 
in medicine, or by these united accomplishments, he 
so won the king's favor as to become an inmate of 
his palace, and he continued as such the remainder 
of his life : equally qualified, if we may judge from 
the titles of the works he published, and from those 
which have reached us, to fill the situation of court 
physician, or poet laureate. 

At the period when Aratus found himself thus 
fortunately established in the court of Antigonus 
much attention was given to the study of astronomy. 
About a century and a half before, Meton, the cele- 
brated mathematician of Athens, had discovered the 
lunar cycle of nineteen years, and published it in his 
book entitled Enneadecaterides. At a later period 
Eudoxus had brought from Egypt an improved 
celestial sphere, and had introduced at Cyzicus and 
Athens a system of astronomy and philosophy de- 
rived from the priests of that country. Dionysius, 
the astronomer of Alexandria, had lately calculated 
and determined the exact length of the solar year to 
be 365 d . 5 h . 49 m . The expedition of Alexander to 
Persia, Egypt, and India, had opened fresh sources 

1—2 



4 LIFE OF ARATUS. 

of information to the Greeks, and had given them 
a taste for this science. Plutarch records as an 
example of the ostentation of Demetrius, the son of 
Antigonus I., that there was a robe a long time in 
weaving for him of most sumptuous magnificence : 
the figure of the world and all the heavenly bodies 
were to be represented upon it. Now this piece of 
tapestry was probably not intended for a robe, but 
for a useful and scientific ornament of his palace, 
and manifests a taste superior to mere shew and 
ostentation. Ptolemy, another of Alexander's gene- 
rals, became as renowned for his patronage of learning^ 
and science as for his skill and success in war, and 
this taste descended to his successors. 

Antigonus G-onatas was himself 'a proficient in 
astronomy, and an admirer of the works of Eudoxus. 
Putting that philosopher's description of the celestial 
sphere into the hands of Aratus, he commissioned 
him to render it into verse in imitation of Hesiod's 
" Works and Days." The task, which Aratus under- 
took, was to give the astronomical description of the 
heavens, according to Eudoxus, and to relieve the 
dull monotony of a mere catalogue of constellations 
and stars by poetical language : in other words, to 
deck the stiff formal limbs of Urania in the graceful 
flowing robes of Calliope*. And with great skill and 
ingenuity he has accomplished this undertaking. He 
has introduced so much of the fabulous history at- 

* The king gave the poet a copy of the work of Eudoxus : 
afxa elnovros, " as EYAOEOTEPON noie7s top EYA0E0N, e/creiW 
ra irap avrat Keipeva perpco. 



LIFE OF ARATUS. 5 

tached to the constellations from the heathen mytho- 
logy, and such vivid descriptions of the natural 
animals, whose figures are depicted on the celestial 
sphere, as to give life and animation to his verse, 
without overburthening it or losing sight of his main 
object. 

In weighing the merits and defects of Aratus, 
the critic should take into consideration the difficulty 
of his undertaking. His poem has no hero, no events, 
no dialogue, no action, and yet he succeeded in 
rendering it one of the most popular works for a 
series of years, that ever was published. It is an 
undeniable fact, that for five or six centuries it held 
a rank in the estimation of the learned not inferior to 
that of the Iliad of Homer. Maximus Tyrius only 
speaks the opinion of his contemporaries, when he 
terms Aratus, liotrjrrjv ovcev doo^oTepov tov Ofxripov'^ 
or Ovid, when he ranks him with Homer and Sopho- 
cles : 

Vivet Maeonides Tenedos dum stabit et Ide, 
Dum rapidas Simois in mare volvet aquas. 

Nulla Sophocleo veniet jactura cothurno : 
Cum sole et luna semper Aratus erit. 

The admiration which his poems obtained is 
proved by the numerous scholiasts and commentators 
upon them. Among the Romans they were so popular, 
that no fewer than three translations of them were 
made into Latin hexameters, and by no ordinary 
writers. Cicero translated the Phenomena and Dio- 
semeia. A great part of the former has come down 



6 LIFE OF ARATUS. 

to us. From this specimen of the great prose writer's 
muse we certainly should not rank him among the 
first class of poets ; but it must be remembered, that 
he produced his work while yet he was a very young 
man, and the Latin language had not acquired that 
perfection to which the writers of the Augustan age 
advanced it*. 

The celebrated Germanicus Caesar, son of An- 
tonia, the niece of Augustus, amused the leisure hours 
of his military campaigns by translating the Pheno- 
mena. His version, in elegant Latin hexameters, 
gives him no humble rank among the poets of the 
Augustan age. He does not seem to have attempted 
the Diosemeia : it was either less inviting to his 
muse, or leisure might be wanting for the undertak- 
ingf. 

At a later period, in the fourth century of the 
Christian asra, Festus Avienus rendered the Pheno- 
mena and Diosemeia into Latin hexameters. His 
version is far more diffuse than the original, and as- 
sumes the character of a poetical paraphrase of 
Aratus. He considerably enlarges upon the text, 
follows out the fables, and occasionally adds fresh 

* " Conficit hanc versionem Cicero quod ipse testatur perquam 
adolescentulus ; prodit quoque ea per se juvenilem ingenii vigorem, 
nee minus doctam et subactam Grseci sermonis poetici scientiam, 
simulque studium acerrimum patrium sermonein Latinum, turn a 
poetis parum adhuc tractatum et excultum, ad Greed sermonis 
perfectionem quantum fieri posset evehendi." (Buhle.) 

t "Dictio Germanici poetica, quamvis ille passim archaismum 
sectatus sit, longe est vividior et elegantior Ciceroniana, et prodit 
omnino poetam Virgilii et Horatii requalem." (Buhle.) 



LIFE OF ARATUS. 7 

matter *. The translation of Avienus has the ad- 
vantage, which neither that of Cieero or Germanicus 
possesses, of coming down to us unmutilated. 

Among the more celebrated of the Latin poets 
Virgil, Ovid, and Manilius, have borrowed consider- 
ably from Aratus. 

To another class of commentators and readers the 
poems of Aratus have been recommended by the cir- 
cumstance of St Paul, when addressing the philosophers 
of Athens, having quoted the exordium of the Phe- 
nomena ; for, although the sacred historian only gives 
four words as a reference to the passage, it is pro- 
bable, that the Apostle quoted the following lines to 
prove to his learned hearers, that the doctrine of the 
eternity, unity, and omnipotence of the Godhead was 
no new invention, or confined to the Jewish nation, 
but the creed of the wisest of their own philosophers 
and poets : 

E/c Aios ap^wfxedOa' tov ovIsttot avSpes ea>/u.€v 
'ApprjTov. Mecrrcu ce Aios irdcxai iiev dyvicu, 
Ylacrai o dv9p(V7rcov ayopai' [xecrTi? 6e OdXacraa, 
Kai Xifxeves. Haurrj ce Aios Ke^prj/meOa 7tolvt€S. 
Toy tap kai tenos esmen* 6 S? rj7rios dv6pco7roicri 
Aeftct crtjiuaivei' Xaovs o 67rl epyov eyeipei, 
Mi/jLvrjcncwv {3lotolo' Xeyet 6 ore fiwXos dpiarrj 
Bofcrt re kcl\ juaKeXrjcn' Xeyei o ore Serial wpai 
Kai (pvra yvpwacu, Kai airepikara irdvra fiaXeaOai. 

* " In dictione poetica non comparandus est Avienus quidem 
Cicerone aut Germanico, excellit tamen inter poetas Latinos seriores 
puritate et elegantia sermonis." (Buhle.) 



8 LIFE OF ARATUS. 

Autos yap tcloc <sr\(xaT kv ovpavw eaTYjpi^ev, 
Acrrpa oictKpivas' eaKe^j/aro o els eviavrov 
AcrTepas, oiKe fxaXiara Tervyixeva (rrj/naivoiev 

'Av6pd(TW, (VpCllWV 0<pp' €jUL7T€^d TTCLVTa (pVWVTCtl. 
T<W JULIV a€L TTpWTOV T€ KCll VGTCLTOV CkctCTKOVTai. 

Xcupe 7raTep, fxeya Oav^a, /mey avOpwiroicnv bveiap. 

Let us begin from Jove. Let every mortal raise 
His grateful voice to tune Jove's endless praise. 
Jove fills the heaven — the earth — the sea — the air : 

I We feel his spirit moving here and every where. 

1 And we his offspring are. He ever good 
Daily provides for man his daily food. 
Ordains the seasons by his signs on high, 
Studding with gems of light the azure canopy. 
What time with plough or spade to break the soil, 
That plenteous store may bless the reaper's toil, 
What time to plant and prune the vine he shews, 
And hangs the purple cluster on its boughs. 
To Him — the First — the Last — all homage yield : 
Our Father — Wonderful — our Help — our Shield. 

St Paul, himself a citizen of Tarsus, and probably 
instructed in the celebrated schools of his native city 
in those branches of profane literature and science, 
in which he excelled, would with peculiar propriety 
quote to his learned audience the words of the poet 
of his own country; and by so doing shew to them, 
that he was not (as the Greeks reported the Christians 
to be) a neglecter and despiser of those acquirements, 
for which the age was celebrated, and which in the 
opinion of an Athenian audience constituted the 



LIFE OF ARATUS. 9 

distinguishing mark between the civilized man and 
the barbarian. 

The example thus set by the Apostle was followed 
by the early fathers of the church. Eusebius* and 
Clemens Alexandrinus f quote this same passage ; and 
Aratus appears to have been a favorite author with 
Christians as well as Heathen J. 

Cicero remarks : " Aratum hominem ignarum 
Astrologise ornatissimis atque optimis versibus de 
coelo et stellis scripsisse ;" thus highly praising his 
poetical talents, but disparaging his astronomical 
science. Cicero's remark is thus far true : Aratus 
might not make the observations himself, but study 
and adopt the notions of Eudoxus, in the same 
manner as Cicero himself, who was proud of his own 
astronomical knowledge, obtained it from writers 
upon the subject. Aratus was certainly a proficient 
in astronomy, as far as the science had advanced in 
his times. It is not to be expected that in all his 
statements he should he minutely accurate, for he is 

* Euseb. Evang. Prsef. Lib. xin. 
t Clem. Alex. Strom. Lib. v. 

+ On the revival of literature in the fifteenth century several 
editions of Aratus were published. In 1521, Philip Melancthon 
edited the Phenomena with a Latin version and preface. In 1600, 
Hugo Grotius published the Phenomena and Diosemeia with 
Cicero's translation into Latin hexameters, interpolating the lost 
passages. He added the versions of Germanicus and Avienus, with 
notes upon the whole, and a learned dissertation on the Arabic, 
Hebrew, Greek and Latin names of the constellations and stars. 
The best modern edition of Aratus is that of Professor Buhle, in 
2 Vols, octavo. 



10 LIFE OF ARATUS. 

not writing a scientific essay on astronomy, but a 
popular poetical description of the celestial sphere. 
Quinctilian's observation is correct, and to the point : 
" Materia Arati motu caret, ut in qua nulla varietas, 
nullus affectus, nulla persona, nulla cujusquam sit 
oratio. Quid potuisset in Virginis fabula expressit, in 
reliquis id quod voluit. Sufficit tamen operi cui se 
credidit par em." 

Aratus was the first to put these subjects, so 
interesting both to the philosopher and to the vulgar, 
to the scientific, and to the superficial observer, into 
verse. Many writers followed in his steps, none of 
whose productions have reached us : a convincing 
proof of the superior merits of our poet over his 
rivals and imitators. The following is the remark of 
Buhle upon Aratus, and is a just critique upon his 
works : " Insignis est utique in carminibus Arateis 
ars, qua formse coelestes deinceps descriptae sunt ; 
delectat harum descriptionum ordo simul et varietas ; 
ornataa sunt illae mythis non oneratae ; et quod puri- 
tatem, simplicitatem, elegantiam Graeci sermonis at- 
tinet vix reperias quern Arateo compares." 

The two works of Aratus, which have come down 
to us, are " the Phenomena*," and " the Diosemeiaf." 

The Phenomena may be divided into three parts. 
The first, ending at line 450, contains a description of 
the constellations : the second, from line 451 to 568, 

* " &aiv6fi€va. Peculiariter apud astrologos. Ta (paivofMeva di- 
cuntur quse apparent in coelo." (Scapula.) 

t " Aioo-rjpeLa seu Atocrr//xia. Signum Jove: Prodigiosa tem- 
pestas: vol simpliciter tempestas." (Scapula.) 



LIFE OF ARATUS. 11 

of the position of the most important circles on the 
celestial sphere. The third, from line 569, ad finem, 
describes the position of various other constellations 
on the rising of each of the signs of the Zodiac. 

The Diosemeia contains prognostics of the wind 
and weather, derived from various sources, but chiefly 
from observations on the heavenly bodies. This latter 
subject does not allow of so much poetical embellish- 
ment as the former. 

Aratus was the author of numerous other works : 
of a didactic poem in heroic verse, the title of which 
was laTpiKa, or 'laTpiKai Auvdjmeis. 

Macrobius has preserved to us one of his epigrams. 
It is on Diotomus of Adramyttium, who was a school- 
master at Gargara, a city of Troas on mount Ida : 

AlaXw AioTijULOf, 6s ev TreTpaicTL KaQrjrai 
Tapyapewv ttclkjiv firJTa teal aX(pa Xey&v. 

I wail Diotomus, who by the rocky sea 
Of Gargaron is teaching children A, B, C. 

Strabo quotes from another work of Aratus, called 
Td Kara XewTov. Speaking of Gyaros, a small island 
in the Grecian archipelago, he says : Aratus points 
out their poverty in his Td Kara Xctttov : 

Q ArjTol <jv [levels l*-ev cnorjpeiri QoXeydvopw 
AeiXf], r\ Tvapov irapeXevaeai civti^ ojuoir] ; 

Dost thou remain on Pholegandros' flinty shore, 
Or seek'st thou Gyaros, as wretched and as poor ? 

His other works, of which no fragments remain, 
but the titles of which are preserved by the writers 



12 



LIFE OF ARATUS. 



of his life, are numerous and upon various subjects : 
rhetorick, grammar, medicine, and poetry. He cer- 
tainly merited the title given him by one of his scho- 
liasts, acpocpa TToXvypdfA/uiaTos avrjp. 

Aratus is said to have ended his life in Macedonia 
at the court of Antigonus : if so, his ashes were pro- 
bably removed to his native country, as Pomponius 
Mela, who lived in the first century of the Christian 
sera, states that the tomb of the poet was to be seen 
in his time near to Pompeiopolis, the name to which 
Soli had been changed in honour of Pompey the 
Great*. There was a silver coin of Cilicia bearing 
the head of Aratus, and on the reverse a lyre, of 
which a specimen is still in existencef. 




* " Cydnus ultra per Tarsum exit. Deinde urbs est olim a Rho- 
diis, Argivisque, post Piratis Pompeio assignante possessa, nunc 
Pompeiopolis, tunc Soloe. Juxta in parvo tumulo Aeati poetse 
monumentum, ideo referendum, quia ignotum, quam ob causam 
jacta in id saxa desiliunt." [Pomp. Mela. Cap. 13.] 

t Vid. Beger. Thesaur. Brandenburg, p. 265. 



ON THE 
CELESTIAL SPHERE. 



TN endeavouring to ascertain the nation to which 
J- we are indebted for the celestial sphere, and the 
date of its introduction, we have very little historical 
information to rely upon. The earliest writer we are 
acquainted with, who mentions the heavenly constel- 
lations, is Homer*. The following passage occurs in 
the description of Vulcan's shield : 

'Ev jiiev yalav era^', ev o ovpavov, ev oe OaXaaraav, 
'HeXtov t aKatxavTa, <reXrjvr]v re 7rXt]6ovo~av, 
'Ei/ oe rd Teipea wavTa, tcl t ovpavos ecrTecpdvoDTaiy 
YlXrjidcas 6' 'Ydcas tg, Tore aOevos Qpiwvos, 
'ApKTov 0\ v]V kcu ct/ua^av €7riKXf]<jiv KaXeovaiv, 
H t avrov GrpeCperai, Kai t Qpivova coKevei* 
O'lrj o an/ULopos eo~Ti Xoerpcov 'QKeavoio. 

" There shone the image of the master mind ; 
There earth, there heaven, there ocean he design'd ; 
The unwearied sun, the moon completely round ; 
The starry lights that heaven's high convex crown'd; 
The Pleiads, Hyads, with the northern team ; 
And great Orion's more refulgent beam ; 

* See note at the end. 



14 CELESTIAL SPHERE. 

To which around the axle of the sky 
The Bear revolving points his golden eye ; 
Still shines exalted in the ethereal plain, 
Nor bathes his blazing forehead in the main." 

(Pope.) 

This description evidently shews that the celes- 
tial sphere of Homer was the same as that of 
Eudoxus and Aratus ; and that at the time when the 
Iliad was written the Greeks were in possession of 
this sphere. Herodotus states that they borrowed 
the names of their twelve gods, their religious cere- 
monies, and their geometry from Egypt ; and from 
the same people they are said to have obtained the 
celestial sphere. At the same time it is not probable 
that the Egyptians were the inventors of it. There 
is nothing of an Egyptian character in the figures 
depicted upon it; nor can this people establish any 
claim to the invention, being never celebrated for 
their astronomical discoveries. Their talents and 
skill were directed to Geometry and Architecture, 
in which two sciences they greatly excelled. But 
there are two nations whose claim to the introduction 
of the celestial sphere rests upon such strong pre- 
sumptive evidence that it is difficult to refuse to 
either the credit of the invention. These are the 
Assyrians and the Phenieians. And there is on the 
face of the sphere, as we now have it, and as it came 
to the Greeks, evidence almost amounting to proof 
that it was composed from two other distinct spheres, 
on one of which the signs or constellations were 



CELESTIAL SPHERE. 15 

animals, and on the other human figures with some 
emblematical signs*. The following is the way in 
which the constitution and present condition of the 
celestial sphere, exhibiting a strange mixture of 
human figures and animals, may be explained. 

At an early period after the deluge that family 
of the human race which constituted the great As- 
syrian empire spread themselves over the central 
plain of Asia, founded large cities, among others 
Babylon, where they carried all the arts and sciences 
of civilized life to high perfection. We know that 
they excelled in the knowledge of astronomy ; much 
of which they might derive from the antediluvian 
patriarchs through Noah and his immediate descend- 
ants. Cicero says : " Principio Assyrii, ut ab ultimis 
auctoritatem repetam, propter planitiem, magnitudi- 
nemque regionum, quas incolebant, cum caelum ex 
omni parte patens, atque apertum intuerentur, tra- 
jectiones, motusque stellarum observaverunt : quibus 
notatis quid cuique significaretur, memorise prodi- 
derunt." — (Cic. de Divin.) They would construct a 
celestial sphere. And we can imagine that, agree- 
ably to the notions entertained by those early nations, 
of respect and veneration for their departed ances- 
tors, they would honour their memories by pourtray- 
ing their figures on the celestial sphere. From the 
early history of the human race, as recorded in the 

* These might originally have been borne by some figure, which 
has been omitted and the emblem retained : as the crown, the lyre, 
the triangle, &c. In the constellation Aquarius with his urn we 
may have the figure and the emblem. 



16 CELESTIAL SPHERE. 

first ten chapters of Genesis, and the continued 
records of their own empire, they would form a 
picture-history, commencing with Adam and reaching 
to their own times. Such I conceive to have been 
the Assyrian or Babylonian sphere ; and that from it 
are derived the human figures on our celestial globe. 
The other sphere, of which the signs or constel- 
lations were the figures of animals, was of Phenician 
origin. This people at an early period having mi- 
grated to the eastern shores of the Mediterranean 
became the first of maritime nations : 

Oi julcv €7T Yiire'ipw, To'nrep ^vpioi KaXeovrai' 
01 o ctAos c'y'yw eovres, eirwvv^irjv <t>oivuces 9 
Tcov o avcpoov yeverjq ol 'ILpvOpaioi yeydaacv* 
Oi irpwTOL vrjecrcriv eireiprjcravTo OaXaaarj^ 
Upcoroi o €(X7ropir]s aXiciveos ejuvrjo-avTo, 
Kal fiaOvv ovpav'iwv aa-rpwv iropov €(ppao-<ravTo. 

(Dionys. 904.) 

Their country extended along the coast of Syria, 
their inland territory being very limited, the ranges 
of Libanus and Antilibanus forming their utmost 
barrier to the east, and separating them from other 
nations. They soon became a populous and powerful 
people, and were most celebrated for their maritime 
skill and boldness, and for the advancement they 
made in arithmetic and astronomy. Their mariners 
would carefully observe the positions and motions of 
the heavenly bodies, and would figure them upon a 
celestial sphere. And in so doing, what plan would 
they more probably adopt than that of taking for 



CELESTIAL SPHERE. 17 

the signs or constellations the images which distin- 
guished and gave a name to their celebrated ships ? 
The learned Bochart has clearly shewn that the word 
Pegasus is of Phenician origin : Jl£ Pag or M£ Pega, 
" a bridle," and DID Sus, " a horse," forming the word 
DIDJJjS " Pegasus," " the bridled horse," no doubt the 
figure at the head, and the name of a ship. The 
body of this animal and of several others on the 
globe are cut in half, exactly representing the figure 
as it would appear on the head of a ship. Cetus, 
a whale, or great fish : a Dolphin : a Hydra, or sea- 
snake : a Swan : a Ram : a Bull, are all such signs 
as ships would bear*. 

The next question is : How and where did the 
amalgamation of the Babylonian and Phenician 
spheres take place? This, I imagine, was the work 
of the Egyptians. By the traffic, which they car- 
ried on to the south through the red sea, and 
along the coast of the Arabian gulf, they would 
become acquainted with and adopt the former ; and 
at the same time the northern inhabitants of the 
country by their commercial intercourse with the 
nations on the coasts of the Mediterranean, especially 

* It is far from improbable, that the whole of these Phenician 
signs were taken from the interior of one of their temples. It was 
customary to make an offering in token of any special deliverance, 
or successful voyage, by suspending the emblem of the ship in 
gold or some less costly material along the walls of then temples. 
Homer mentions among the contents of a temple, 

" The yellow [golden] heads of horses/' 
KttjtoI Se rp'nrobis re, Kai Inncov £av6a Kaprjva. (II. IX. 406.) 

2 



18 CELESTIAL SPHERE. 

the Phenicians, would receive and adopt the latter ; 
and the necessary result would be, that the Egyptian 
astronomers would form one sphere from the two, 
adopting from each those constellations which ac- 
cording to their judgment rendered the celestial map 
most clear and complete. And this accounts for so 
many constellations bearing two distinct names, and 
for the union of totally dissimilar objects in one sign. 
On the Phenician sphere the two nothern constel- 
lations were " Arctoi," " Bears* :" on the Babylonian, 
" Amaxai," " Chariots." On the Babylonian the 
human figure now called Auriga corresponded with 
one on the Phenician called "the Goat and her 
kids," and hence Auriga is represented as bearing 
a Goat and her kids. 

Had we now the Babylonian sphere unmutilated, 
it would be a picture history from Adam to the time 
of its invention. Commencing at the north : The two 
chariots revolving round the pole, turning each way, 
one to the east and one to the west, and never setting, 
with Draco the great serpent between them, were 
emblems of JT^fimbn STM ttfb AW tWDTriK , 
ra "xepovfilfx kcu ttjv (pXoy'ivrjv po[x<paiav ty\v. <Trpe(po/uL€- 
vrjv, " the cherubim and flaming sword turning every 
way." The first figure, of which Aratus and the early 
astronomers give a description from the tradition they 

* Dubhe, the name of the bright star in this constellation, 
gives us the Phenician name of the constellation itself: ^n? Dub, 
a Bear. Hyginus states that Thales, a Phenician, discovered the 
Little Bear, and gave it the name; and that also it was called 
Phenice. 



CELESTIAL SPHERE. 19 

had received, is : " That of a labouring man, a man 
doomed to labour : his name is unknown : the cause 
of his task is unknown, he is in an attitude of sup- 
plication, kneeling on his right knee, hence his title 
Engonasin, [ev yovaaiv] Geniculator : his left foot 
treads on the dragon's head : he is naked, and bears 
on one arm the skin of a beast." That this figure 
represents our first parent, as described in the third 
chapter of Genesis, no one can doubt. How his name 
was lost is very evident : Q*7K , " Adam," in the 
original language is not only specially the name of 
our first parent, but signifies "generally " a man." 
Hence in another language it might be rendered, 
" a man ;" and " Adam doomed to labour," would 
become, " a man doomed to labour," or " a labour- 
ing man." The name of the next figure, trans- 
lated from that which he bore on the Babylonian 
sphere into Greek, is, " '0<piov"xos" " Ophiuchus," 
" Serpentarius ;" " qui tenet serpentem," "the man who 
holds or restrains the serpent." Here then follows 
close upon Adam the promised seed, that is, Seth, 
who in the early period of the human race was con- 
sidered to be the promised seed*. In like manner 
the traces of other antediluvians may be found north 
of the equator. South of it we have Argo, the hinder 
part of the Ark, as it might be seen at that time 
on mount Ararat : the raven j- resting on the Hydra, 

* Vid. Gen. iv. 25. " She bare a son, and called his name 
Seth : For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead 
of Abel, whom Cain slew." 

t All the fables respecting this bird relate to his having been 
sent by Apollo to fetch water, not returning in proper time, and 

2—2 



20 CELESTIAL SPHERE. 

the water-snake. The Centaur (Noah) bearing 
(Orjpiov) a victim, an offering, or as some say (oivov 
clgkov) a flask of wine. And not far distant, Orion, 
(Nimrod) Y2f *1QX1 , "the Giant," "the mighty 
hunter." 

After that the celestial sphere had fallen into the 
hands of the Greeks, they applied to the several 
figures of men and animals, which they found de- 
picted upon it, the stories of their own mythology, 
and changed several of their names accordingly ; in 
the same manner as we know that after the time of 
Aratus*, they substituted Hercules for Engonasin ; 
putting a club in his hand : describing the animal's 
skin on his arm as that of the Nemean Lion, and the 
Dragon on whose head he treads as the guardian of 
the golden apples of the Hesperides. 

then with an empty vessel, evidently in allusion to the Raven sent 
from the Ark. Gen. viii. 7. 

* Hyginus states that Eratosthenes first called this constellation 
by the name of Hercules. 



CELESTIAL SPHERE. 21 

THE CONSTELLATIONS ON THE CELESTIAL 
SPHERE OF ARATUS WERE AS FOLLOW. 

NORTH OF THE EQUATOR. 

1. Ursa Major. The Greater Bear. Helice. 
The Greater Northern Wain. In this constel- 
lation is one star of the first magnitude, Duhbe, in 
the square on the back. 

2. Ursa Minor. The Lesser Bear. Cynosyra. 
The Lesser Northern Wain. In this constellation 
Cynosyra or Ruccabah at the extremity of the tail 
is the Pole star. 

3. Draco, The Dragon. 

These three constellations were always above the 
horizon in the latitude for which the sphere of Aratus 
was constructed. 

4. Engonasin [''0 ev yovacriv] Geniculator. The 
Labouring Man. This constellation after the time 
of Aratus was changed into that of Hercules. 

5. Corona Borealis. The Northern Crown. 

6. Ophiuchus. Serpentarius. The man who 
holds the Serpent. A naked figure of a man folded 
round by a serpent, of which he grasps the neck in 
his left hand, and the tail in his right. 

7. Bootes. Arctophylax. A naked figure with 
a belt (Zcovr)) round the waist : bearing in one hand 
a sickle, and in the other a goad or spear. In this 



22 CELESTIAL SPHERE. 

constellation is the bright star Arcturus. The con- 
stellation itself is frequently designated by the name 
of the star. 

8. Auriga. Erecthonius. A naked figure. He 
bears a goat on his left* shoulder, and reins in his 
right hand. On or near the goat is the star Capella, 
and below it two small stars, Hjedi, the Kids, which 
were considered inauspicious stars to sailors. 

9. Cepheus. A naked figure wearing a crown, 
and a belt (Zwvrj) round his loins. 

10. Cassiopeia. A naked female figure sitting 
on a throne or in a chair ; with arms extended in 
the attitude of beating her breast. 

11. Andromeda. A female figure with a wreath 
on her head, and with robes (Zw/aara), a chain on 
her wrists passing round her back. On her head 
Alpherat : on her loins Mirach : on her foot Almack. 

12. Pegasus. The forepart of a winged horse. 

13. Deltoton. An isosceles triangle. 

14. Perseus. A naked winged warrior, bearing 
in his right hand a drawn sword, and in his. left hand 
a human head. 

* The north side of a figure is called the right, and the south 
the left. Thus Apollo directs Phaeton : 

66 Neu te dexterior tortum declinet in anguem, 
Neve sinisterior pressum rota ducat ad aram." 

It must be remembered, that the right side of a figure depicted 
on a convex globe becomes the left, when seen from the center; 

and vice versa. 



CELESTIAL SPHERE. 23 

15. Pleiades. Seven small stars. These seven 
stars are now in the constellation of the Bull ; but on 
the sphere of Eudoxus they formed a small constella- 
tion of themselves, near the left knee : according 
to Hipparchus, near the left foot of Perseus. 

16. Lyra, or Vultur cadens. The Lyre. This 
constellation contains the splendid star Vega. 

17. Cygnus. The Swan. A bird with expanded 
wings, and outstretched neck. 

18. Sagitta. An Arrow or Dart. 

19. Aquila, or Vultur volans. An Eagle. In 
this constellation is the bright star Atair. 

20. Delphinus. The Dolphin. This constella- 
tion was called by the ancients the musical sign. 
The reason given for this title was, that it contained 
nine stars, the number of the Muses. The cause 
of the name may be the Dolphin's supposed fondness 
of music. (PI. Nat. Hist. ix. 8.) 



ON THE ZODIAC OR ECLIPTIC. 

1. Aries. The Eam. A constellation containing 
no bright stars. His head is reversed, looking back 
to the east. 

2. Taurus. The Bull. The forepart of a Bull, 
facing to the east. In the left eye is the bright star 
Aldebaran. 



24 CELESTIAL SPHERE. 

3. Gemini. The Twins. Castor and Poblux. 
Two naked infants ; the arm of one around the loins 
of the other. In rising their feet first appear above 
the horizon. The star in the head of Pollux is of 
the first magnitude. These stars were considered 
propitious to sailors. 

4. Cancer. The Crab. The head of the Crab 
is turned to the east. In this constellation there is 
a small bright nebula called by the ancients Qarvri, 
Praesepe, the manger ; and on each side of this nebula 
to the north and south a small star. These two stars 
were called "Ovoi, Aselli, the Asses. The Phatne 
consists of five small stars, and the Onoi are scarely 
perceptible to the naked eye, but they were con- 
sidered by the ancients of great importance in their 
prognostications of the weather. 

5. Leo. The Lion. The conspicuous star Re- 
gulus lies in the heart of Leo, and Denebola at the 
extremity of his tail. 

6. Virgo. Erygone. The Virgin. An angelic 
figure with wings, bearing in her left hand a spike of 
corn. On which is the bright star Spica. A cluster 
of small stars, which were originally in Virgo, or 
according to some in Leo, now forms another con- 
stellation, Coma Berenices. 

7. Chelae. The Claws. The foreclaws of Scorpio. 

8. Scorpio. The Scorpion. On the sphere of 
Eudoxus the foreclaws of the Scorpion constitute 
the seventh sign of the Zodiac, and the remaining 
portion of Scorpio the eighth. Hence Aratus desig- 



CELESTIAL SPHERE. 25 

nates Scorpio, " MeyaBiipiov" " Megatherion," ". The 
great beast." (Phsenom. 82.) And Ovid says : 

" Est locus in geminos ubi brachia concavat arcus 
Scorpios ; et cauda fiexisque utrimque lacertis 
Porrigit in spatium signorum membra duorum." 

His length extended through two- twelfths or 
one-sixth of the whole zodiac circle. After the time 
of Aratus, Libra, The Scales, w T as substituted for 
Chelae, The Claws, on the celestial sphere. Virgil 
suggested this constellation as the proper one for 
the star of Augustus, when after his death he should 
be inscribed among the gods, as the 23rd of Septem- 
ber was his birth-day, at which time the Sun enters 
this constellation : 

" Anne novum tardis sidus te mensibus addam ? 
Qua locus Erigonen inter Chelasque sequentes 
Panditur : ipse tibi jam brachia contrahit ardens 
Scorpios, et coeli justa plus parte relinquit." 

(Georg. i. 32.) 
The Poet implies that in honour of Augustus 
the Scorpion had contracted his claws to make room 
for Libra, about to be honoured by the Julium Sidus. 
Manilius also : 

" Sed cum autumnales coeperunt surgere Chelae, 
Felix aequato genitus sub pondere Librae, 
Judex examen sistet vitaeque necisque ; 
Imponetque jugum terris, legesque rogabit. 
Ilium urbes et regna trement, nutuque regentur 
Unius, et coeli post terras jura manebunt." 

(Lib. iv. 548.) 



wrlj 



26 CELESTIAL SPHERE. 

There is a splendid star Antar, or Cor Scorpionis, 
on the breast of Scorpio. 

9. Sagittarius. The Archer. A centaur or 
man on horseback bearing a bow. 

10. Capricornus. The horned Goat. A goat 
with the hinder extremities of a fish. 

11. Aquarius. The man who holds the water- 
ing Urn. Aquarius bears on his right arm an urn, 
from which water is flowing, and in his left hand* 
probably some ears of corn, emblems of the primitive 
offering to the Deity before the introduction of wine 
and animal sacrifices. When the Sun was in Aquarius 
the Eomans commenced their year : the ninth of 
February was " Veris initium." 

" cum frigidus olim 

Jam cadit, extremoque inrorat Aquarius anno." 

(Virg. Geor. m. 303.) 

" Qua3, simul inversum contristat Aquarius annum, 
Haud usquam prorepit." 

(Hor. Sat. i. 1. 36.) 

12. Pisces. The Fishes. One is called the 
northern and the other the southern. Their tails 
are united by a band. 

* It is impossible to determine the article, which was borne in 
the left hand of Aquarius and of Orion. 



CELESTIAL SPHERE. 27 



SOUTH OF THE EQUATOR. 

1. Orion. The Giant Hunter. Orion was a 
giant figure in the attitude of ascending. He wore 
a belt and sword. In one hand he bore a club, in 
the other probably a hunter's bag. His head was 
bent backward between his shoulders, so as to ex- 
hibit his face. It may here be remarked, that all 
the human figures on the ancient sphere were pour- 
trayed with their backs to the spectator, and their 
faces turned more or less to view. The most northern 
star on the belt of Orion lies on the equator. This 
constellation has two stars of the first magnitude : 
Eigel on the left foot, and Betalgeux on the right 
shoulder ; and three of second magnitude. Three 
small stars on the head of Orion are called Jugul^:, 
and hence the constellation itself sometimes bears 
the name of Jugula. These stars were of great 
importance with the astronomers of Babylon, rising 
in their latitude with the Sun on the summer solstice. 

2. Canis Major. The Great Dog. In this con- 
stellation is the star Sirius. The ancients imagined 
that the heat of the Sun when in Cancer and Leo 
was greatly augmented by the additional influence 
of Sirius and other large stars that lie in or near 
these constellations : 

apiXrjkoL ce o\ auyctl 

QaiVOVTCLl TToWoiGl fX€T CKTTpCLCTl VVKTO$ djULoXyw* 

' Ov re kuv Qpiwvos 67riK\r](Tiv KaXeoucri, 



28 CELESTIAL SPHERE. 

Aa.n7rpoTa.Tosiu.evoy ggtl Kanov ce Te arj/ia tbtuktui, 
Kai T€ (pepei ttoXKov irvpeTOv ceiXolai fipoTolai. 

II. xxii. 29. 

Ponendaeque domo quaerenda est area primum : 
Novistine locum potiorem rure beato ? 
Est ubi plus tepeant hyemes ? ubi gratior aura 
Leniat et rabiem Canis et momenta Leonis, 
Quum semel accepit solem furibundus acutum ? 

• (Hor. Epist. i. x. 16.) 

3. Lepus. The Hare. 

4. Argo. The hinder part of a ship. 

5. Cetus. The -Whale. The Great Fish. It 
looks to the east. 

6. Eridanus. The Eiver. Canopus, a star of 
the first magnitude, lies between this constellation 
and that of Argo. 

7. Piscis Austrinus. The Southern Fish. In 
this constellation is the bright star Fomalhaut. 

8. Corona Australis. The Southern Crown. 

9. Ara. The Altar. This constellation con- 
tains no star of greater magnitude than the fourth, 
and lies so far to the south, that it is in no wise 
conspicuous in our northern latitudes ; but it was 
considered of the greatest importance by the ancients 
as portending changes of the weather. 

10. Centaurus. The Centaur. A man on horse- 
back, bearing an animal on a pole or spear. 

11. Hydra. The Sea Serpent. Upon it an 
empty Goblet, and a Raven or Crow. 



CELESTIAL SPHERE. 29 

12. Canis Minor. Canicula. The lesser Dog. 
This constellation is also called Procyon from the 
bright star on the Dog's shoulder. YlpoKvwv, Procyon, 
signifies, "rising before the Dog," i. e. before the 
greater Dog, Sirius. 

This star, as well as Sirius, was considered by the 
ancients as contributing to the heat of the Dog-days : 

" Jam clarus occultum Androinedse Pater 
Ostendit ignem ; jam Procyon furit, 
Et stella vesani Leonis 

Sole dies referente siccos." 

(Hor. m. Od. 29. 17.) 

Cum vero in vastos surget Nemeseus hiatus; 
Exoriturque canis, latratque canicula flammas, 
Et rabit igne suo, geminatque incendia solis. 

Man. v. 207. 

These are all the constellations of the old ce- 
lestial sphere. Twenty northern, twelve southern, 
and twelve on the Zodiac, making the total of forty- 
four. 



30 CELESTIAL SPHERE. 



NOTE. Page 13. 

In the book of Job, #y, bV2> TOj m»D> Ash, Kesil, 
Kimah, Mazzaroth, are by most commentators considered to be the names 
of constellations or stars. It would have been far better under this im- 
pression for the translators of our bible to have retained the Hebrew 
names, Ash, Kesil, and Kimah, as well as Mazzaroth. The Septuagint 
translators of the book of Job, in Ch. ix. 9, render tyy j 7»D3 > HD'O > 
Ash, Kesil, Kimah, nXeias, Pleias, "Eoirepos, Hesperus, 'Apicrovpos, 
Arcturus; and in Ch. xxxviii. 31, 32, the same words are rendered 
"Eanepos, Hesperus, ''QpiW, Orion, nAeias, Pleias. In Amos v. 8, 
^D31 HDO HVW ("who made Kimah and Kesil"), is rendered 
"6 noicov ivavra kcu perao-Kevgao-cov" "who made and fashioned all 
things." In like manner the Vulgate, in Job ix. 9, renders these three 
words, Arcturus, Orion, Hyades ; and in xxxviii. 31, 32, Vesperus, Arc- 
turus, Pleiades. The interpretations of the rabbinical and other commen- 
tators upon these words are various. Ramban says : they are the names of 
superior stars, that is, stars of great influence and power. R. Salomo 
and Ralbag, that Kesil and Kimah are constellations. R. Aben Esra, 
that Ash is a constellation of seven stars not far from the north pole, 
and that Kesil and Kimah are stars of first magnitude in the Zodiac. R. 
Perizolides and others, that Ash is one of the stars in the tail of the Ram, 
Kesil and Kimah the stars that occasion cold and heat : Kesil, the cold ; 
and Kimah, the heat. Mercer, with others, renders the three words, 
Arcturus, Orion, Pleiades. Cocceius maintains that Ash is Ursa minor: 
Kesil, Cor Scorpionis: Kimah, Oculus Tauri. Parkhurst rejects the 
notion of these words being the names of stars, and renders ttyy, Ash, 
Blight : ^>DD j Kesil, Cold i HD'O > Kimah, Heat. There is the same 
diversity of opinion respecting Jl^fD > Mazzaroth. R. Levy conjectures 
that it was a star which seldom appeared in the land of Uz, and hence 
the words : " Num educes Mazzaroth tempore suo ?" Others consider 
this word a title for the twelve signs of the Zodiac: others again, that 
Ash, Kesil, Kimah and Mazzaroth are the four cardinal points. Schmidt 
remarks on Job ix. 9 : " Insuperabilem, ut existimo, versus habet difH- 
cultatem, dum continet astrorum ejusmodi nomina de quibus nihil nisi 
conjectura nobis relicta est. Nos nihil audemus definire : sed cum Ram- 
bane in hoc potius acquiescimus, quod insignia astra sint, a quibus ad 
reliqua omnia valeat collectio." Bochart (Hierozoic. Vol. n. p. 113, 114) 
gives an explanation of Job xxxviii. 32, »T W^ t£PV » " Aish cum filiis 



CELESTIAL SPHERE. SI 

suis :" " Aish with her sons." He shews, that with some of the Arabian 
astrologers the name of the greater and lesser Bear was, " Feretrum majus 
et feretrum minus," "the greater and the lesser Bier, or Sarcophagus," 
on which a dead body is carried; and that the three stars in the tail of 
the Bear were called " the sons of," that is, the attendants or followers 
of the Bier, which was itself constituted of the other four conspicuous 
stars in the constellation. Hence Job says, " An feretrum deduces cum 
filiis suis?" Schmidt on this verse ventures a conjecture, namely, that 
by " Aish cum filiis suis" is meant Jupiter and his four satellites : the 
arguments by which he supports this conjecture may be seen in his note 
upon the passage. 

That these four words have any allusion to the stars is merely con- 
jecture. We do not find these names or any similar to them used by the 
Arabian astronomers, which we probably should do, had they been the 
names of constellations or stars on the celestial sphere in the days of Job. 
May not the words t£/y , 7>D3 > HD*D > Ash, Kesil, Kimah, signify 
vapour, ice or snow*, and rain, the three natural conditions of water; 
and the passages in which they occur be thus rendered ? 

Job ix. 8. Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth on 
the wave of the sea. 

9. Which maketh the vapour, the snow, and the rain. 

Job xxxviii. 30. The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face 
of the deep is frozen. 

31. Canst thou congeal the soft showers of rain, or loosen the bands 
of ice ? 

32. Canst thou bring forth Mazzarothf in his season ? Canst thou 
produce the vapour with the dew-drops ? 

Amos v. 8. Seek him that maketh the snow and the rain, and turneth 
the shadow of darkness into morning, and maketh the day dark with 
night ; that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon 
the face of the earth. 

* "\bVD, Kisleu, was the name of the ninth month, a very cold month, as we 
know from Jer. xxxvi. 22 ; whence probably its name, " the icy month." 
t Probably the name of a periodical pestilential wind. 



TPAMMA TOA APHTOIO AAHMONOZ OZ nOTE 
AEI1TH 

<!>PONTIAI AHNAIOYZ AZTEPAZ E<l>PAZATO 

AI1AANEAZ T AM4>n KAI AAHMONAZ OIZIN 
ENAPrHZ 

IAAOMENOZ KYKAOIZ OYPANOZ ENAEAETAI 

AINEZen AE KAMX2N EPrON MErA KAI AIOZ 
EINAI 

AEYTEPOZ OZTIZ E0HK AZTPA OAEINOTEPA 



THE 
PHENOMENA. 



" ETus begin from Jove. Let every mortal raise 
•*-* His grateful voice to tune Jove's endless praise. 
Jove fills the heaven — the earth — the sea — the air : 
We feel his spirit moving here, and every where. 
And we his offspring are. He ever good 
Daily provides for man his daily food. 
Ordains the seasons by his signs on high, 
Studding with gems of light the azure canopy. 
What time with plough and spade to break the soil, 
That plenteous stores may bless the reaper's toil, 10 
What time to plant and prune the vine he shows, 
And hangs the purple cluster on its boughs. 
To Him — the First — the Last — all homage yield, 
Our Father — Wonderful — our Help — our Shield. 

Next hail, harmonious Muses, and inspire 
Some portion of your own celestial fire, 
Not adverse to a daring Poet's flight, 
Who scours on fancy's wings the realms of light. 
3 



V 



34 PHENOMENA. 

These diamond orbs their various circles trace, 
And run incessantly their daily race. 20 

Bound a fix'd axis roll the starry skies : 
Earth, even balanc'd, in the centre lies. 
One pole far south is hid from mortal eye, 
One o'er our northern ocean rises high : 

Bound this The Bears, with head to head reverse, 
And back to back, pursue their endless course. 
With mortals once they dwelt ; if truth belong 
To old tradition, and the Poet's song. 
When saved by craft from Saturn's bloody hand 
Jove's mother bare him to the Cretan strand, 30 

There Helice and Cynosyra fair 
Foster'd the babe with all a mother's care. 
The Corybantes beat their cymbals near, 
Deafening his cries to Saturn's watchful ear. 
Grateful his foster-dames, the Poets say, 
Jove plac'd in heaven to run their glorious way. 
Pleasing to sight is Helice 's bright team, 
And Grecian sailors hail her guiding beam, 
When toss'd by adverse winds and tempest black 
Mid wintry seas their dubious course they track. 40 

But hardier sons of Tyre, who love to brave 
The unknown monsters of th' Atlantic wave, 
By Cynosyra's surer guidance steer, 
And safe return to wife and children dear. 



PHENOMENA. 35 

Betwixt the Bears, like foaming river's tide, 
The horrid Dragon twists his scaly hide. 
To distant Helice his tail extends, 
In glittering folds round Cynosyra bends. 
Swoln is his neck — eyes charg'd with sparkling fire 
His crested head illume. As if in ire 50 

To Helice he turns his foaming jaw, 
And darts his tongue barb'd with a blazing star. 
His head upon the arctic wave he lays, 
Where blend the western with the eastern rays. 
Around the pole he swims, but never laves 
His fiery limbs in ocean's cooling waves. 

A Labouring Man next rises to our sight : 
But what his task — or who this honour' d wight — - 
No Poet tells. Upon his knee he bends, 
And hence his name Engonasin descends. 60 

He lifts his suppliant arms, and dares to rest 
His right foot on the scaly Dragon's crest. 

Near shines that diamond Crown, which Bacchus 
made 
For faithful Ariadne, when betray'd 
By ingrate Theseus, left to grief and shame 
Th' enamour'd God consol'd the widow'd dame. 

A head of splendour Serpentarius rears : 
As crystal clear his shoulder broad appears, 

3—2 



36 PHENOMENA. 

And rivals jealous Cynthia's silver light, 

When in full power she rules the wintry night. 70 

His feet stamp Scorpio down — enormous beast — 

Crushing the monster's eye, and plaited breast. 

With outstretched arms he holds the serpent's coils : 

His limbs it folds within its scaly toils. 

With his right hand its writhing tail he grasps, 

Its swelling neck his left securely clasps. 

The reptile rears its crested head on high, 

Beaching the seven-starr'd crown in northern sky. 

Beneath its coils the giant Claws are found : 
Few are their stars — for splendour unrenown'd. 80 

Hard on the traces of the greater Bear 
Presses Bootes in his swift career. 
'Mong many gems more brilliant than the rest 
Arcturus glows upon his belted waist. 
Through the long day he drives the Arctic Wain, 
And sinks reluctant in the western main. 

Rising beneath Bootes' feet admire 
That beauteous form in maidenly attire. 
In her left hand a golden spike she bears : 
Glitter with sparkling gems her yellow hairs. 90 

Art thou, fair Virgin, daughter of that fam'd 
Immortal sage of old, Astrseus nam'd, 
With skilful hand who mapp'd the starry sky, 
Plumbing its dark abyss with Philosophic eye ? 



PHENOMENA. 37 

Or art thou, Goddess, she of heavenly birth, 

Who condescended once to dwell on earth, 

Astraea call'd, in fabled days of old — 

Alas ! for ever gone — the Poet's age of gold ? 

Then Justice rul'd supreme, man's only guide : 

No fraud — no violence — no strife — no pride. 100 

No sailor ventur'd then to distant clime, 

And brought back foreign wealth and foreign crime. 

All tended then the flock, or till'd the soil, 

And milk and fruit repaid their easy toil. 

All happy — equal, as the Poets sing, 

No fierce seditious mob — no tyrant king — 

But soon these days of innocence were gone : 

In his sire's place arose a viler son 

Of silver race. Then to the mountain's glen 

Scar'd and offended from the haunts of men 110 

Fair Justice fled. Yet still at times were seen 

Her angel figure, and her godlike mien. 

But when she view'd the crowded city's throng — 

" The proud man's contumely — the poor man's wrong — " 

Vex'd was her righteous soul. " Mortals, farewell, 

" Farewell," she said, " no more with man I dwell. 

" Ye of your sires a vile degenerate race, 

" Your offspring you their fathers will disgrace. 

" War soon will desolate these fruitful lands — 

" A brother's blood will stain a brother's hands. 120 

" Rising to view I see a ghastly train — 

" Revenge — Oppression — Woe — Despair — and Pain." 



38 PHENOMENA. 

She said ; and hastening to the mountain's height 

Fled far away from mortal's longing sight. 

These men soon pass'd away, and in their place 

Far viler sons arose — the brazen race — 

They first the stubborn ore obedient made, 

And forg'd — unhallow'd skill — the murderous blade. 

The patient ox, long wont to till the soil, 

To tread the corn, and share his master's toil, 130 

Dragg'd from his stall — poor harmless slaughter'd 

beast — 
Gave to his cruel lord a bloody feast. 
Justice was shock'd — the blood-stain'd earth she flies — 
Jove bade her welcome to her native skies r^x 
And near Bootes take her honour'd place, 
Where men might still adore her angel face. 
Sparkle her golden wings with crystal light — ^ 
One gem they bear superlatively bright : . v 
It rolls beneath the tail, and may compare 
With the fam'd stars that deck the greater Bear. 140 
One gem upon her snow-white shoulder shines : 
One clasps the silken girdle of her loins : 
One decks her bending knee ; and in her hand 
Glitters her golden spike like fiery brand. 
Many less brilliant stars, by name unknown, 
Spangle her vestments, and her forehead crown. 

The Twins, beneath the muzzle of the Bear, 
Parted on earth, but join'd for ever here, 
Together shine : 






PHENOMENA. 39 

Her middle part below, 
The stars in Cancer few, and faintly glow : 150 

'Neath her hind feet, as rushing on his prey, 
The lordly Lion greets the God of day, 
When out of Cancer, in his torrid car 
Borne high, he shoots his arrows from afar, 
Scorching the empty fields, and thirsty plain : 
Secures the barn the harvest's golden grain. 
Then murmur first with hollow sound and deep* — 
Portentous warning — soon o'er ocean sweep 
Th' Etesian winds. Black Neptune's bosom heaves: 
He frowns at first, and curbs his restless waves. 160 

But soon joins headlong in the desperate fray, 
Careering madly on the foaming spray. 
Give me a vessel broad, if doom'd to brave 
These wild winds' fury, and the warring wave. 

Next the broad back and sinewy limbs appear 
Of fam'd Auriga — dauntless charioteer — 
Who lash'd the untam'd coursers to the yoke, 
And seour'd the dusty plain with fervid spoke. 
Now round the pole he holds his swift career, 
While presses on his track the greater Bear. 170 

Far in the north his giant form begins, 
Beaching athwart the sky the distant Twins. 
The sacred Goat upon his shoulder rests — 
To infant Jove she gave a mother's breasts, 



40 PHENOMENA. 

Kind foster-nurse ! Grateful he plac'd her here, 
And bade her Kids their mother's honour share. 
Capella's course admiring landsmen trace, 
But sailors hate her inauspicious face. 

Beneath Auriga, turning to the east, 
The Tyrian Bull, Europa's treacherous beast, 180 

His golden horns and snowy neck displays : 
Rivals his splendid head Apollo's rays. 
Glows his red eye with Aldebaran's fire — 
With sparkling gems his brow the Hyads tire. 
Auriga and the Bull together meet — 
Touches his star-tipp'd horn the hero's feet. 
The beast before him to the west descends — 
Together with him from the east ascends. 

Unhappy Cepheus, though of race divine ! 
From Jove himself descends the royal line, 190 

And not unmindful of his noble birth 
To heaven Jove rais'd him from this lower earth. 
Above the lesser Bear his form is seen — 
Measures her tail the space his feet between. 
Near to the studded girdle of his waist 
Lies the huge coil of Draco's speckled breast. 

Near and before him rolls divinely fair 
Proud Cassiopeia in her stately chair. 
Few gems, though bright, the mournful matron grace ; 
Nor can she rival Cythia's beauteous face. 200 






PHENOMENA. 41 

When the bifolding door the warder bars, 
His crooked key depict her glittering stars. 
She seems to wail the judgments, which betide 
Her daughter, victim of a mother's pride. 

Near, young Andromeda, more splendid far, 
Though grief and fear the maiden's beauty mar. 
Her garland'd head — her shoulders bare admire — 
Her diamond sandall'd feet — her rich attire — 
She still in heaven her captive form retains ; 
And on her wrists still hang the galling chains. 210 

Close and above her head the wondrous steed 
With hoof and wing exerts a double speed. 
So close they meet, one brilliant star they share, 
His body it adorns — and decks her hair. 
His side and shoulder with three others grac'd, 
As if by art at equal distance plac'd — 
Splendid and large. Obscure his ample chest — 
Black his long neck — and black his flowing crest. 
But on his nostril glows a living fire — 
Snorting he seems to stamp with rage and ire. 220 

No quadruped this horse ; for lost to sight 
Vanish his hinder parts in darkest night. 
Once, as they say, on Helicon was seen 
Starting from rocky cleft sweet Hippocrene; 
When with his hoof he struck the sounding rock, 
And earth, obedient to the magic shock, 



42 PHENOMENA. 

Pour'd forth her copious stream. And hence the 

name 
Of Hippocrene — and hence its lasting fame. 
Still flows the cooling fount in Thespian grove — 
Treads Pegasus th' elysian fields of Jove. 230 

While slow the stars of Cynosyra roll, 
Creeping in narrow circle round the pole ; 
The furious Eam pursues a swift career 
Through the wide centre of the crystal sphere. 
No splendid gems his golden fleece adorn — 
Two dimly glitter on his crooked horn. 
If you would find him in the crowded skies, 
Beneath Andromeda's bright belt he lies. 
On the same path he round the heaven is borne,- 
As Scorpio's claws, and fam'd Orion's zone. 240 

Deltoton next — another sign — is given, 
Which marks the place of Aries in the heaven. 
Three stars the form of a Triangle trace — 
Two equal sides upon a shorter base. 
Southward of this, declining to the west, 
Behold his ample horns and shaggy breast. 

Where the equator cuts the zodiac line, 
On the blue vault the glittering Fishes shine. 
Though far apart a diamond-studded chain, 
Clasping their silvery tails, unites the twain. 250 



PHENOMENA. 43 

The Northern one more bright is seen to glide 
Beneath th' uplifted arm, and near the side 
Of fair Andromeda. 

Her anxious eyes 
Gleam bright with hope : beneath her Perseus flies, 
Her brave deliverer — mighty son of Jove — 
His giant strides the blue vault climb, and move 
A cloud of dust in heaven : his falchion bare 
Eeaches his honour'd step-dame's golden chair. 

Near his left knee the Pleiads next are roll'd, 
Like seven pure brilliants set in ring of gold. 260 

Though each one small, their splendour all com- 
bine 
To form one gem, and gloriously they shine. 
Their number seven, though some men fondly say, 
And Poets feign, that one has pass'd away. 
Alcyone — Celo:no — Merope — 
Electra — Taygeta — and Sterope — 
With Maia — honour'd sisterhood — by Jove 
To rule the seasons plac'd in heaven above. 
Men mark them, rising with the solar ray, 
The harbingers of summer's brighter day — 270 

Men mark them, rising with Sol's setting light, 
Forerunners of the winter's gloomy night. 
They guide the ploughman to the mellow land — 
The sower casts his seed at their command. 



44 PHENOMENA. 

When the mute shell, by cords elastic bound, 
Made vocal warbled forth harmonious sound — 
Jove snatch'd from earth the care-dispelling Lyre — 
The Gods themselves sweet melody admire. 
Before the Labouring Man its place in heaven — 
To smooth toil's rugged brow sweet music given. 280 

Next soars with wings expanding far and wide 
Around the pole in majesty to glide 
Jove's mottled Swan. Th' adulterous bird, they say, 
That lent his form fair Leda to betray. 
His curving neck around the Lyre he bends — 
To distant sky his diamond head extends — 
Dark and obscure in parts — in others bright — 
Studded his wings with numerous gems of light. 
Like to a hovering bird his pinions rest, 
While floating tranquilly he seeks the west. 290 

Reaches one foot to Cepheus far aloof — 
Touches one wing the flying-horse's hoof. 

About this steed extends the Fish's band — 
Upon his mane Aquarius rests his hand. 

Before him Capricorn — of monster kind — 
In front a goat — a scaly fish behind. 
Down to his realms each year the Sun descends : 
Returning thence with strength renew'd ascends. 
Hapless the mariners, who rashly brave, 
Or fates compel to tempt, the wintry wave. 300 



PHENOMENA. 45 

The pallid sun, late rising from the east, 

Looms through the murky cloud, and seeks the west. 

Dark gloomy Night usurps unequal sway, 

Nor deigns to share it with the God of day. 

The long black billows roll — the whirlwinds roar — 

And smokes with shiver'd foam the rocky shore. 

Now headlong in the yawning trough they merge — 

Now rise like cormorants on the crested surge — 

Chills their spray-beaten limbs the icy air — 

Chills their heart's blood of death the instant fear. 310 

Poor hapless mortals ! but a plank of wood 

'Twixt them and stygian Pluto's drear abode ! 

Sailors, forewarn'd within your ports remain, 

Nor, rashly venturing, loss and ruin gain. 

E'en while the sun in Sagittarius lies, 
Trust not the faithless sea and clouldless skies. 
Mark where on zodiac-line the Archer stands, 
With outstretch'd bow and arrow in his hands. 
When from the east his monster form he rears, 
Bright Scorpio's gem Antar aloft appears ; 320 

And high in their meridian glory roll 
Cold Cynosyra's stars around the pole : 
Orion plunges in the western waves, 
And half his body northern Cepheus laves. 

There lies an Arrow — from what bow it fell 
Near to the flying Swan, no Poets tell. 



46 PHENOMENA. 

Beneath it soars the Koyal Bird of Jove, 
Rais'd by his master to these realms above. 
To sailors oft an inauspicious star, 
Rises at dawn of day, the bright Atair. / 330 

Where Capricorn his horned forehead rears, 
Not distant far his course the Dolphin steers — 
Obedient fish — that from a distant shore 
His coy reluctant bride to Neptune bore. 
With four fair stars he decks the summer skies, 
Sparkling and soft as maiden's beauteous eyes. 

Now have been sung the various forms that roll 
Their daily orbits round the northern pole ; 
And the twelve signs, through which the God of day, 
Varying the seasons, runs his glorious way. 340 

There yet remain untold those stars which shine 
In realms beyond the equinoctial line. 

Athwart the Bull first rise — majestic sight ! 
Orion's giant limbs and shoulders bright. 
Who but admires him stalking through the sky, 
With diamond-studded belt, and glittering thigh ? 

Nor with less ardour, pressing on his back, 
The mottled Hound pursues his fiery track. 
Dark are his lower parts as wintry night — 
His head with burning star intensely bright. 350 



PHENOMENA. 47 

Men call him Sirius — for his blasting breath 
Dries mortals up in pestilence and death. 
When, following hard upon the God of day, 
He darts through field and grove his parching 

ray; 
The face of Nature scorch'd and blister'd lies, 
And beauteous Flora withers — pines — and dies. 
But luscious juice the bursting grapes distil ; 
And golden stores the reaper's bosom fill. 

Up from the east the Hare before him flies — 
Close he pursues her through the southern skies. 360 
Nearer he cannot reach — farther she cannot strain — 
And close they plunge into the western main. 

Near to the quarters of Orion's hound 
Steers through the azure vault her nightly round 
The far-fam'd ship, in which bold Jason's crew 
First dar'd dark ocean's trackless path pursue. 
When a swift vessel ploughs her watery way, 
With forward prow she meets the dashing spray ; 
But when deep-laden back from distant land 
She comes, with forward poop a clamorous band 370 
Of joyous sailors haul her to the strand. 
And thus, with forward poop and prow reverse 
The heavenly Argo steers her westward course. 
O'er half her length a shroud of darkness cast — 
Some splendid stars illume her head and mast. 



48 PHENOMENA. 

Mark where the savage Cetus couching- eyes 
Andromeda, secure in northern skies. 
The Fish and horned Earn his progress bar, 
Nor dares he pass the track of Phoebus' car. 
The silken bands, that join the Fishes' tails, 380 

Meet in a star upon the monster's scales. 

Beneath Orion's foot Eridanus begins 
His winding course, and reaches Cetus' fins. 
When high-born Phaeton with boyish pride 
Presum'd his father's fiery steeds to guide, 
And, from his shatter' d chariot in the wave 
Hurl'd headlong, to ambition gave 
An awful warning ; from his reedy bed 
Eous'd was the river-god — alarm'd he fled 
From his parch'd channel — and in pity Jove 390 

Gave him a place in the blue vault above. 

Where broken Argo ploughs her azure way, 
Where savage Cetus eyes his beauteous prey : 
Between them both, beneath the flying Hare, 
Unnumber'd, small and glittering stars appear. 
Nameless they are — and boundless — unconfin'd 
In fancied forms by human skill design'd. 

These heavenly signs some wise and ancient man, 
Skilful and apt the realms of night to scan, 
Devis'd and figur'd : each arrang'd with care — 400 

Decking with various forms the concave sphere. 



PHENOMENA. 49 

Hopeless the task each separate star to name, 
Many in lustre and in size the same ; 
But group' d in constellations they appear 
Though nameless known — though numberless in order 
clear. 

The southern Fish beneath Aquarius glides, 
And upward turns to Cetus' scaly sides. 
Rolls from Aquarius' vase a limpid stream, 
Where numerous stars like sparkling bubbles gleam ; 
But two alone beyond the others shine : 410 

This on the Fish's jaw — that on the Monster's spine. 

Glitters, the forefeet of the Archer near, 
The southern Crown : its jewels not so fair 
As Ariadne's in the northern sphere. 

Where Scorpio to the south his claw expands, 
Burning with constant fire an Altar stands. 
Few are the hours it shines to mortal eye — 
Short is its passage through the wintry sky — 
Long as Arcturus o'er the ocean rides, 
So long the darksome wave the Altar hides. 420 

Primeval Night, who with the God of day 
O'er earth and ocean holds divided sway, 
Pitying the toils and dangers of the brave 
Adventurous sailor through the pathless wave, 
4 



50 PHENOMENA. 

By certain signs the coming tempest shows, 

While Zephyr breathes, and smoothly ocean flows. 

When thou behold' st the Altar bright and clear, 

While all around is cloud and darkness drear, 

Forewarn'd, take heed — soon loud and fast 

Will Notus drive upon the furious blast. 430 

The prudent sailor with attentive eye 

Observes this warning beacon plac'd on high : 

Tightens each rope — binds fast the flapping sail — 

And rides securely through the threat'ning gale. 

Imprudent mariners these signs despise, 

Nor heed the murmuring wind and lowering skies : 

With sail to shivers torn and broken mast 

Headlong they drive before the furious blast : 

Now frowns with ruin big the mountain wave — 

Now gapes the dark abyss a yawning grave. 440 

If to their prayer propitious Jove attend, 

And from the north storm-quelling Boreas send ; 

Dispers'd the clouds — serene the troubled air — 

And curb'd is Neptune in his mad career. 

But if the Centaur 'twixt the east and west 

Have half his course perform 'd, and on his breast 

A cloudy vapour hang — forewarn'd beware — 

For Eurus with his blighting breath is near. 

The Centaur next his monster form displays. 
Is he sage Chiron, sung in Homer's lays ? 450 



PHENOMENA. 51 

Above his front, of human form divine, 

The scaled limbs of blazing Scorpio shine. 

Where in a horse his hinder quarters end, 

Above on zodiac line the Claws extend. 

In his right hand some beast he seems to bear — 

They say, an oifering for the Altar near. 

The Hydra next her giant length extends — 
Around the Centaur's head her tail she bends. 
Above her coiled back the Lion stands — 
Close o'er her glittering head dark Cancer hangs. 460 
On the mid coil a Goblet rests — below, 
As pecking at her skin, the crafty Crow. 

Beneath the Twins the portals of the east 
Dread Procyon bursts — though last, in splendour not 
the least. 

These are the heavenly orbs that ever roll 
In their fix'd circles round the central pole. 

Five other stars remain of various size, 
That lawless seem to wander through the skies. 
Hence Planets call'd — yet still they ever run 
Through the twelve signs, the circuit of the sun. 470 
Thousands of ages come — thousands depart — 
Ere all return and meet where once they start. 
Rash the attempt for artless hand like mine 
To trace their orbits and their bounds define : 

4—2 



52 PHENOMENA. 

My easier task the circles to rehearse 

Of the fix'd stars, and trace Sol's annual course. 

If with admiring ken some cloudless night, 
When no full moon obtrudes her jealous light, 
To the high Heavens thou lift the starry eye, 
A radiant girdle belts the azure sky — 480 

A pearly pavement softly bright it seems — 
Its silvery whiteness rivals Cynthia's beams — 
The Milky Zone. No other circle given 
Thus visible to mortal eyes in Heaven. 
Four circles trace we on the heavenly sphere 
To mark the course of each revolving year ; 
Round the mid heavens the larger two are bound, 
Nearer the poles the lesser two are found. 

Upon the northern, dear to sailors, shine 
The brother Twins, of Jove's immortal line. 490 

With glowing knees Auriga it adorns ; 
And close below the Bull expands his horns. 
To Perseus' legs and shoulders it extends — 
Andromeda her beauteous arm upon it bends 
Down from the north. The Flying Horse aloof 
Reaches the circle with his prancing hoof. 
Stretches the Swan his neck and head afar, 
Seeking to touch it with his utmost star. 
Near it his shoulders Serpentarius rears, 
And nearer yet the Serpent's head appears. 500 



PHENOMENA. 53 

Astr^ea's virgin form below reclines — 

Her angel face on realms more southern shines. 

It runs athwart the Lion's loins and breast — 

Cutting his shaggy mane and tawny chest. 

Hence into Cancer, where its course begun, 

And where in northern Tropic rests the Sun. 

If in eight parts this circle we divide, 

Five rise above — three sink in ocean's tide. 

When Phoebus gains this point, approaching near 

E'en to the forefeet of the greater Bear, 510 

He checks his steeds, and turns his burning car 

Down from the north to Capricorn afar. 

The other corresponding circle lies 
As distant from the pole in southern skies. 
The breast it cuts and loins of Capricorn, 
And both his legs, who holds the Watering Urn. 
Its track on Cetus' fishy tail is found — 
Through the swift Hare — and swift pursuing Hound. 
Onward it runs o'er Argo's glittering mast, 
And to the monster Centaur's hairy breast. 520 

Divides the Scorpion near its fiery sting — 
Cutting the Archer's crooked bow and string. 
His southern limits here the Sun attains, 
When tyrant Winter holds in icy chains 
Our northern realms. Five parts of weary night 
Our hapless lot — and three of solar light. 



54 PHENOMENA. 

Betwixt them both a greater circle lies, 
And equally bisects the starry skies. 
When Phoebus cuts this Equinoctial way, 
He gives to man the balanc'cl night and day : 530 

When weeping Autumn mourns the empty fields, 
And when to genial Spring stern Winter yields. 
On it the Eam his golden fleece reclines ; 
To it his crooked knees the Bull inclines ; 
On it Orion's diamond-studded waist ; 
To it the Hydra lifts her coiled breast ; 
Onward through Scorpio's outstretch'd Claws its track, 
Cutting the Serpent, and the brawny back 
Of Serpentarius. Closely soars above 
The mighty messenger of thundering Jove. 540 

Nor distant far the snorting Winged Horse, 
With flowing mane pursues his daily course. 

The orbits of three circles we have trac'd, 
Directly round the polar axis plac'd : 
The fourth, obliquely running through the sky 
From lowest Capricorn to Cancer high, 
Touches each Tropic, and unites the twain, 
Twice cutting through the equinoctial line. 
No skilful hand, though Pallas lent her art, 
To orbs such various movements could impart, 550 

Harmonious all. On the celestial sphere 
Though stars untold, as ocean's sand, appear, 



PHENOMENA. 55 

Each tracks its separate orbit through the skies — 
Fix'd is its place to set — its place to rise. 
But the fourth circle on the ocean's face 
To set and rise has no determin'd place. 
Now mounting high to Cancer's torrid side — 
With Capricorn now sinking in the tide. 
If we this circle measure in the sky, 
Spanning a sixth part with the human eye, 560 

Two signs of twelve it can at once embrace, 
Thence to the central eye an equal space. 
Through torrid Cancer and the Lion's crest 
This Zodiac runs, and o'er the Virgin's vest : 
Where Scorpio stretches far his glittering Claws, 
And where his arrow Sagittarius draws — 
To Caprioornus with his fishy stern, 
And moist Aquarius with his flowing urn — 
To where apart the silvery Fishes glide, 
Their tails by silken band together tied — 570 

By golden Aries, and the Bull's red eye- 
To where the Twins propitious shine on high. 
Each year this circle tracks the God of day, 
Cheering the earth with his prolific ray. 
Six of its parts in heaven conspicuous ride, 
While six are hid from sight in ocean's tide. 
Deep as it plunges in the southern main, 
So high it mounts upon the starry plain. 
Black dreary Night now holds extended sway, 
Giving to earth the cold contracted day : 580 



56 PHENOMENA. 

Now triumphs in his turn the God of light, 
Nor deigns to share his power with ancient Night : 
Scarce sinks in western wave his burning car, 
Ere burst his snorting steeds their eastern bar. 

Important task to trace its course aright, 
And mark its rising each successive night ; 
For always held within this zodiac bound, 
Running his annual course the Sun is found. 
If clouds arise, or mountains intervene, 
And Phoebus' rising chariot is not seen ; 590 

Turn to that part of the horizon's line, 
Where uneclips'd the heavenly beacons shine : 
Some star there mark, which by its setting ray 
Tells of the rising of the God of day. 

When Cancer rises from the eastern main, 
Not few the gems that deck the azure plain. 
The diamond Crown, that amorous Bacchus gave 
To Ariadne, in the western wave 
One half is plung'd : the southern Fish descends 
Headlong, his tail upon his back he bends. 600 

Tir'd Serpentarius dips his heaving breast, 
With his broad shoulders, and the Serpent's crest. 
Arctophylax, insatiable of light, 
Unwilling seeks the dreary realms of night — 
Above the waves his outstretch'd hand remains, 
Through half the night the struggle he maintains. 



PHENOMENA. 57 

Rears to meridian sky Orion bold 

His massy club — beneath his feet is roll'd 

Eridanus — splendid his diamond band, 

And sheath'd in flickering gold his flaming brand. 610 

When rising fiercely from his eastern lair, 
The Lion shakes the dewdrops from his hair, 
Jove's Eagle, scar'd, to western ocean flies, 
Quenching the fiery bolt, and lightning of his eyes. 
Headlong Engonasin — yet still appear 
His knee and foot within the starry sphere. 
The Hydra, fearless of the lordly beast, 
Rises together with him from the east. 
And burning Procyon, and the bright-ey'd Hare, 
And forefeet of the greater Dog appear. 620 

When fair Astr^a shows her virgin face, 
Propitious to this earth — her dwelling place 
In times gone by ; then sets the Arcadian Lyre, 
Which skilful Hermes strung for Jove his sire — 
Plunges the Dolphin in his native waves — 
The mottled Swan his plumes in ocean laves — 
Westward Eridanus pours down his tide — 
Merges the Horse his head and winged side. 
Aloft the Hydra lifts his speckled crest, 
Showing the Goblet on his coiled breast. 630 

All Sirius now emerges from below, 
And glittering Argo with her broken prow. 



58 PHENOMENA. 

If few conspicuous stars the Claws can boast, 
And their dim light mid brighter gems is lost ; 
Together with them great Bootes rears 
His head, and on his waist Arcturus bears. 
While Argo spreads aloft her spangled sails, 
And Hydra stretches forth her lengthened scales. 
That nameless figure, kneeling in the sky, 
Now lifts to sight his rising leg and thigh — 640 

Ever he kneels — aloft his arm he flings, 
As if to strike the Lyre's responsive strings. 
Poor Labouring Man — he knows no night of rest — 
Ere all his wearied limbs have gain'd the west 
His morning course begins. Slow to the east 
He lifts his giant form. His heaving breast 
Eises with Scorpio ; while his head below 
Advances with the Archer's outstretch'd bow. 
Lingering he struggles on the ocean's verge, 
And slowly with three signs his limbs emerge. 650 

Together with the Claws the diamonds bright, 
That deck the northern Crown, arise to sight, 
And sink the Swan and Pegasus in utter night. 
Of Neptune's wrath Andromeda the fair 
No longer mindful dips her golden hair. 
When lo ! to western wave the dauntless brute, 
The fishy Cetus rolls, as in pursuit 
Of his lost prey. And in the northern waves 
Cepheus his head, and hand, and shoulder laves. 



PHENOMENA. 59 

When Scorpio rises with the bright Antar, 660 

Orion marks that signal from afar ; 
Nor turns to view the monster form again, 
But hastens downward to the western main. 
Pardon, chaste Dian, if I now relate, 
As ancient bards have sung, Orion's fate. 
He rashly dar'd, they say, on Chian strand 
To touch thy virgin vest with impious hand, 
What time invited by QEnopion came 
The giant warrior in pursuit of game ; 
And slaughter' d heaps, and vacant forests told 670 

The skill and vigour of the hunter bold. 
A mightier beast, that could his might withstand, 
From the cleft rock arose at thy command ; 
And this huge Scorpion with the hunter's blood 
Aveng'd the harmless tenants of the wood. 
Hence not in heaven unmindful of the fray 
Orion shuns the Scorpion's blasting ray. 
With him Andromeda and Cetus merge 
Their total limbs deep in the briny surge. 
Within the Arctic circle Cepheus glides — 680 

His glittering girdle night from day divides. 
Each eve his crowned head and breast he laves 
Down to the waist in ocean's cooling waves. 
Behind Andromeda her mother queen 
With head immers'd, and legs aloft is seen, 
A royal matron and a stately dame, 
Like to a tumbler at some rustic game ! 



60 PHENOMENA. 

Unsightly posture — Will she now compare 

With graceful Panope and Doris fair ? 

While headlong to the west all these descend, 690 

Up from the east the lower parts ascend 

Of Hydra's snaky length — the crown appears — 

The Centaur's head — and victim which he bears. 

When the great Archer Monster from below 
Kising obtrudes his outstretch'd arm and bow ; 
Then mounting with him Serpentarius shines — 
Round him its speckled coils the serpent twines. 
Engonasin above revers'd appears — 
First to the sky his feet and legs he rears — 
Sweet soother of his toils the Lyre he brings, 700 

Harmonious warbling with its golden strings. 
The stars that Sirius and Orion boast 
In deepest night to human ken are lost. 
Auriga stands upon the watery verge — 
Touches his naked feet the rising surge. 
Capella on his shoulder shines afar, 
To sailors oft an unpropitious star. 
Cepheus now rises on the eastern sky, 
And Perseus half is lost to human eye. 

When rising next appears with butting horn 710 
Half goat, half fish, the wintry Capricorn, 
Auriga setting bears his Kids away ; 
And ocean quenches Procyon's feverish ray. 



PHENOMENA. 61 

Up from the east the Swan majestic sails — 
Returning light Jove's mighty Eagle hails. 

When dripping from his dreary watery bed 
Aquarius lifts his cloud-environ'd head, 
The rising Horse the starry pavement paws 
With panting nostril and extended jaws. 
Night drags the Centaur down to her domain — 720 
Aloft his head and shoulders broad remain 

Till from their native waves the Fishes glide ; 
Then the whole monster sinks beneath the tide. 
Andromeda now gladly quits the main, 
Where Neptune and th' offended Nereids reign. 
Long time emerging from the briny waves, 
One fetter'd hand in ocean still she laves. 

When rises Aries with his golden head, 
And couching rests as on a flowery bed, • 
Quench'd in the ocean sinks the Altar's fire — 730 

To hapless sailors oft an omen dire. 
And Perseus arm'd emerges from the tide, 
As rushing to defend his captive bride. 

When quits the Bull the portals of the east, 
Rises, attendant on the lordly beast, 
Auriga. On him rests Capella bright, 
And rivals Aldebaran's ruby light : 



62 PHENOMENA. 

Not all his limbs the eastern ocean clear 

Till in the heavens the brother Twins appear. 

Now first Bootes sinks into the main, 740 

Struggling" through four long signs the shore to gain — 

One hand he keeps above the arctic way, 

As if intent to seize his grisly prey. 

Dips Serpentarius both his feet and knees, 
As mount the Twins above the eastern seas ; 
And high in their meridian splendour shine 
The numerous stars on Cetus' fin and spine. 
Rising Eridanus the sailors cheers, 
And soon Orion's splendid belt appears : 
By Him the watches of the night they mark, 750 

Intent on Him they steer the fragile bark. 
The Gods, propitious to man's feeble race, 
These signs in heaven his guides and beacons place. 



THE 
D 10 SEME I A 



TTTHEN thou behold'st in evening's western sky 

* Cynthia's thin face, scarce seen by mortal eye, 
She then begins her monthly course to run 
Through the whole annual circle of the sun. 
Observe her on the fourth returning day : 
She casts a shadow from her strengthen' d ray. 
With half her lustre the eighth night she cheers, 
And in eight more with beauty full appears. 
Then, waning through the month's remaining space, 
Each night she rises with diminish'd face. 10 

To mark the lengthening and the shortening day, 
To trace the sun throughout his annual way, 
The zodiac signs suffice. They also show 
The times ordain'd to plough, to plant, to sow. 
These all are taught by great immortal Jove, 
Who orders all below and all above. 

The prudent mariner oft marks afar 
The coming tempest by Bootes' star. 



64 DIOSEMEIA. 

Some warn him, rising at the dusk of night, 

And some, forerunners of Aurora's light. 20 

Across these starry plains the God of day 
Furrows with burning wheel his annual way. 
From east to west he runs his daily race — 
Rises and sets in no determin'd place. 
These things thou know'st; and ancient men have 

told, 
And trac'd in sacred characters of gold, 
How Sol and Luna part again to meet 
When the great cycle nineteen years complete. 
Thou knowest all the stars that night rolls round 
With great Orion, and his rabid hound. 30 

Their influence some o'er Neptune's realm extend — 
Others to Jove belong ; and oft portend 
Events forthcoming. These with care to scan 
The task and wisdom of the prudent man. 
Trust not in fragile bark, too rashly brave, 
The calm but treacherous bosom of the wave. 
Ofttimes at eve the balmy breezes blow, 
And soft as milk the murmuring billows flow. 
But ere again the rosy-finger'd hours 
Unbar for Phoebus' car the golden doors, 40 

The wild winds roar — tumultuous ocean heaves, 
And hurls to mountain height his boiling waves. 
By wise precaution thou may'st haply save 
Thyself and comrades from a watery grave. 



DIOSEMEIA. 65 

Yet oft the tempest rises unforeseen ; 

For short the foresight of the wisest men. 

His secret plans in darkness Jove conceals, 

Nor all his ways to mortal eye reveals. 

Omnipotent is Jove — He may bestow 

More wisdom on his creatures here below. 50 

For while his power extends through endless space, 

He smiles propitious on our favour'd race. 

Gives to the moon her varying silvery light, 

Man's guide and beacon through the wintry night. 

Bids from the east each morn th' unwearied sun 

Through the high heaven his giant course to run. 

And various other signs to mortals sends — 

Warns them of danger, and events portends. 

Those, who the weather's various signs would 
trace, 
Must watch fair Cynthia's ever-changeful face : 60 

Mark her, when rising from the eastern waves — 
Mark her, when in the west her limbs she laves. 
If three days old her face be bright and clear, 
No rain or stormy gale the sailors fear ; 
But if she rise with bright and blushing cheek, 
The blustering winds the bending mast will shake. 
If dull her face and blunt her horns appear 
On the fourth day, a breeze or rain is near. 
If on the third she move with horns direct, 
Not pointing downward or to heaven erect, 70 

5 



6ft DIOSEMEIA. 

The western wind expect ; and drenching rain, 

If on the fourth her horns direct remain. 

If to the earth her upper horn she bend, 

Cold Boreas from the north his blast will send. 

If upward she extend it to the sky, 

Loud Notus with his blustering gale is nigh. 

When the fourth day around her orb is spread 

A circling ring of deep and murky red, 

Soon from his cave the god of storms will rise, 

Dashing with foamy wave the lowering skies. 80 

And when fair Cynthia her full orb displays, 
Or when unveiPd to sight are half her rays, 
Then mark the various hues that paint her face, 
And thus the fickle weather's changes trace. 
If smile her pearly face benign and fair, 
Calm and serene will breathe the balmy air ; 
If with deep blush her maiden cheek be red, 
Then boisterous wind the cautious sailors dread; 
If sullen blackness hang upon her brow, 
From clouds as black will rainy torrents flow. 90 

Not through the month their power these signs extend, 
But all their influence with the quarter end. 

A Halo oft fair Cynthia's face surrounds 
With single, double, or with triple bounds. 
If with one ring, and broken it appear, 
Sailors, beware — the driving gale is near. 



DIOSEMEIA. 67 

Unbroken if it vanisheth away — 

Serene the air, and smooth the tranquil sea. 

The double halo boisterous weather brings, 

And furious tempests follow triple rings. 100 

These signs from Cynthia's varying orb arise — 

Forewarn the prudent, and direct the wise. 

Next mark the features of the God of Day : 
Most certain signs to mortals they convey, 
When fresh he breaks the portals of the east, 
And when his wearied coursers sink to rest. 
If bright he rise, from speck and tarnish clear, 
Throughout the day no rain or tempest fear. 
If cloudless his full orb descend at night, 
To-morrow's sun will rise and shine as bright. 110 

But if, returning to the eastern sky, 
A hollow blackness on his centre lie ; 
Or north and south his lengthen'd beams extend : 
These signs a stormy wind or rain portend. 

Observe, if shorn of circling rays his head, 
And o^r his face a veil of redness spread ; 
For o'er the plains the God of winds will sweep, 
Lashing the troubled bosom of the deep. 
If in a shroud of blackness he appear, 
Forewarn'd take heed — a drenching rain is near. 120 
If black and red their tints together blend, 
And to his face a murky purple lend, 

5—2 



68 DIOSEMEIA. 

Soon will the wolfish wind tempestuous howl, 
And the big cloud along the welkin roll. 

If when the Sun begin his daily race, 
Or ere he sink in ocean's cool embrace, 
The rays that crown his head together bend, 
And to one central point converging tend ; 
Or if by circling clouds he is opprest, 
Hanging about him as a vapoury vest ; 130 

Or if before him mount a little cloud, 
Veiling his rising beams in murky shroud : 
By these forewarn'd, within the house remain, 
Charg'd is the air with stores of pelting rain. 

If Phoebus rising wide and broad appear, 
And, as he mounts, contract his ample sphere, 
Propitious sign — no rain or tempest near. 
Propitious too, if after days of rain 
With a pale face he seek the western main. 

When through the day the angry welkin lowers, 140 
Hid is the Sun and drench' d the earth with showers, 
Catch if thou canst his last departing ray, 
And gain prognostics of the following day. 
If by black cloud eclips'd his orb is found 
Shooting his scatter'd rays at random round, 
Send not the traveller from thy roof away — 
To-morrow shines no brighter than to-day. 



DIOSEMEIA. 69 

If with clear face into his watery bed, 

Curtain'd with crimson clouds around his head, 

He sink, that night no rain or tempest fear ; 150 

And morrow's sun will shine serene and clear. 

If a black cloud eclipse the solar ray, 
And sudden night usurp the place of day, 
As when th' obtrusive moon's dark orb is seen 
Forcing her way the sun and earth between ; 
Or if Aurora tinge with glowing red 
The clouds, that float round Phcebus' rising head ; 
Farmer, rejoice — for soon refreshing rains 
Will fill the pools, and quench the thirsty plains. 
If ere his limbs he rear from ocean's bed 160 

His foremost rays obscure and dark are spread 
On th' horizon's edge ; forewarn'd take heed — 
These signs the rain, or blustering wind precede. 

And weather foul expect, when thou canst trace 
A baleful halo circling Phoebus' face 
Of murky darkness, and approaching near : 
If of two circles, fouler weather fear. 

Mark when from eastern wave his rays emerge, 
And ere he quench them in the western surge, 
If near th' horizon ruddy clouds arise, 170 

Mocking the solar orb in form and size : 
If two such satellites the Sun attend, 
Soon will impetuous rain from heaven descend. 



70 DIOSEMEIA. 

If one, and north — the northern wind prevails : 
If one, and south — expect the southern gales. 

Mark all these signs with an attentive eye, 
But scan with utmost care the western sky ; 
For sure prognostics those which Phoebus gives 
As to their rest his wearied steeds he drives. 

Now mark where high upon the zodiac line 180 

The stars of lustre-lacking Cancer shine. 
Near to this constellation's southern bound 
Phatne, a nebulous bright spot, is found : 
On either side this cloud, nor distant far, 
Glitters to north and south a little star. 
Though not conspicuous, yet these two are fam'd, 
The Onoi by the ancient sages nam'd. 
If when the sky around be bright and clear 
Sudden from sight the Phatne disappear, 
And the two Onoi north and south are seen 190 

Ready to meet — no obstacle between — 
The welkin soon will blacken with the rain, 
And torrents rush along the thirsty plain. 
If black the Phatne, and the Onoi clear, 
Sure sign again that drenching showers are near. 
And if the northern star be lost to sight, 
While still the southern glitters fair and bright, 
Notus will blow. But if the southern fail, 
And clear the northern — Boreas will prevail. 



DIOSEMEIA. 71 

And as the skies above, the waves below 200 

Signs of the rising wind and tempest show : 
When the long hollow rolling billows roar, 
Breaking in froth upon the echoing shore ; 
And through the rugged rock and craggy steep 
Whispers a murmuring sound, not loud but deep. 

When screaming to the land the lone Hern flies, 
And from the crag reiterates her cries ; 
Breasting the wind in flocks the Seamews sail, 
And smooth their plumes against th' opposing gale ; 
And diving Cormorants their wings expand, 210 

And tread — strange visitors — the solid land ; 
When from their briny couch the Wild Ducks soar, 
And beat with clanging wings the echoing shore ; 
When gathering clouds are roll'd as drifting snow 
In giant length along the mountain's brow ; 
When the light down, that crowns the thistles head, 
On ocean's calm and glassy face is spread 
Extending far and wide — the sailors hail 
These signs, prophetic of the rising gale. 

Thunder and Lightning in the summer show 220 
The point from which the freshening breeze will blow. 

Mark when athwart the ebon vault of night 
The Meteors shoot their flash of vivid light — 
From that same quarter will the wind arise, 
And in like manner rush along the skies. 



72 DIOSEMEIA. 

If numerous and from various points they blaze, 
Darting across each other's path their rays, 
From various points conflicting winds will sweep 
In whirlwind fury o'er the troubled deep. 

When from each quarter of the sky around 230 
Blaze the fork'd lightnings, and the thunders sound, 
Pity, oh, pity then the sailor brave, 
Who ploughs in fragile bark the midnight wave. 
The raging billows dash the welkin's brow — 
Hisses the red bolt in the gulf below : 
Jove on his head the pitiless tempest pours — 
Beneath his feet the furious Neptune roars. 

Refreshing showers or heavier rains are near, 
When piled in fleecy heaps the clouds appear. 

No weather fair expect, when Iris throws 240 

Around the azure vault two painted bows ; 
When a bright star in night's blue vault is found, 
Like a small sun by circling Halo bound ; 
W r hen dip the Swallows as the pool they skim, 
And water-fowls their ruffled plumage trim ; 
When loudly croak the tenants of the lake, 
Unhappy victims of the hydra-snake ; 
When at the early dawn from murmuring throat 
Lone Ololygo pours her dismal note ; 
When the hoarse Raven seeks the shallow waves — 250 
Dips her black head — her wings, and body laves. 



DIOSEMEIA. 73 

The Ox looks up and snuffs the coming showers, 
E'er yet with pregnant clouds the welkin lowers : 
Dragging from vaulted cave their eggs to view 
Th' industrious Ants their ceaseless toil pursue ; 
While numerous insects creep along the wall, 
And through the grass the slimy earth-worms crawl, 
The black earth's entrails men these reptiles call. 
Cackles the Hen, as sounds the dripping rill, 
Combing her plumage with her crooked bill. 260 

When flocks of Rooks or Daws in clouds arise, 
Deafening the welkin with discordant cries ; 
When from their throats a gurgling note they strain, 
And imitate big drops of falling rain ; 
When the Tame Duck her outstretch'd pinion shakes ; 
When the shrill screaming Hern the ocean seeks : 
All these prognostics to the wise declare 
Pregnant with rain, though now serene, the air. 

When keen the Flies — a plague to man and 
beast — 
Seek with proboscis sharp their bloody feast ; 270 

When in the wearisome dark wintry night 
The flickering torches burn with sputtering light, 
Now flaring far and wide — now sinking low — 
While round their wicks the fungous tumours grow; 
When on the hearth the burning Ember glows, 
And numerous sparks around the Charcoal throws : 



74 DIOSEMEIA. 

Mark well these signs, though trifling yet not vain, 
Prognostics sure of the impending rain. 

If towers to sight uncapt the mountain's head, 
While on its base a vapoury veil is spread ; 280 

If on the ocean's bosom clouds appear, 
While the blue vault above is bright and clear ; 
These signs by shepherds and by sailors seen, 
Give pleasing hope of days and nights serene. 

When the blue sky and softly breathing air 
Afford of lengthen'd calm a promise fair, 
Then on these signs with watchful eye intent — 
Forewarn'd — secure — the coming storm prevent. 
And when with deep-charg'd clouds the air 's opprest, 
Phatne, the spot that shines on Cancer's breast, 290 
Attentive mark : if bright the spot appear, 
Soon Phoebus smiles with face serene and clear, 
Nor the returning rain and tempest fear. 

When burn the Lamps with soft and steady light, 
And the Owl softly murmurs through the night ; 
And e'en the Raven from her varying throat 
Utters at eve a soft and joyous note : 
When from all quarters in the twilight shade 
The Rooks returning to th' accustomed glade 
Their lofty rocking dormitories crowd, 300 

Clapping their gladsome wings and cawing loud — 



DIOSEMEIA. 75 

Various and unharmonious notes they raise, 
But all their notes are notes of joy and praise — 
And when the Cranes their course unbroken steer, 
Beating with clanging wings the echoing air : 
These hail — prognostics sure of weather fair. 

When the bright gems that night's black vault 
adorn 
But faintly shine — of half their radiance shorn — 
And not by cloud obscur'd, or dimm'd to sight 
By the fine silvery veil of Cynthia's light ; 310 

But of themselves appear to faint away, 
They warning give of a tempestuous day. 

No weather calm expect, when floating high 
Cloud rides o'er Cloud : when clamorous cry 
The Geese : when through the night the Raven caws ; 
And chatter loud at even-tide the Daws. 
When Sparrows ceaseless chirp at dawn of day, 
And in their holes the Wren and Robin stay. 

When charged with stormy matter lower the skies, 
The busy Bee at home her labour plies ; 320 

Nor seeks the distant field and honied flower, 
Returning laden'd with her golden store : 
Their high aerial flight the Cranes suspend, 
And to the earth in broken ranks descend. 
When the dull fire emits no cheerful rays — 
With lustre dimm'd the languid torches blaze, 



76 DIOSEMEIA. 

And the light cobwebs float along the air ; 
No symptoms these of weather calm and fair. 

But why abroad to seek prognostics go, 
When ashes vile foretell the falling snow ? 330 

When half consum'd the coals to cinders turn, 
And with a sputtering flame the torches burn. 
And hail expect, when the burnt cinders white 
With glowing heat send round a glaring light. 

Not signless by the husbandman are seen 
The Ilex, and Lentiscus darkly green. 
If an abundant crop the Ilex bear, 
With blighting matter teems the vapoury air ; 
If with unusual weight its branches groan, 
Then their light sheaves the hapless farmers moan. 340 
Thrice in the course of each revolving year 
On the Lentiscus flowers and fruit appear; 
And three convenient times to farmers show 
To break the fertile clod with crooked plough. 
If at each time this tree with fruit abound, 
Each time with stores will teem the fruitful ground. 
And like prognostic yields the humble Squill, 
Thrice flowering yearly by the purling rill. 

When bounteous Autumn crowns the circling year, 
And fields and groves his russet livery wear ; 350 

If from the earth the numerous Hornets rise, 
Sweeping a living whirlwind through the skies, 



DIOSEMEIA. 77 

Then close on autumn's steps will winter stern 
With blustering winds and chilling rains return. 
Pity the wretch who shelterless remains, 
And the keen blast — half-fed — half-clad — sustains. 

The prudent husbandman, while autumn lasts, 
His precious seed on the broad furrow casts, 
And fearless marks the marshall'd Cranes on high, 
Seeking in southern climes a milder sky. 360 

Not so the idle farmer, who delays, 
And trusts to treacherous winter's shorten'd days. 
He hears their screams and clanging wings with fear, 
Prognostics sure of frost-bound winter near. 

When Autumn's days are nearly past away, 
And Winter hastens to assume his sway, 
Mark if the Kine and Sheep at eventide 
Toss up their horned heads ; with nostril wide, 
Imbibe the northern breeze, and furious beat 
The echoing meadows with their cloven feet ; 370 

For tyrant Winter comes with icy hand, 
Heaping his snowy ridges on the land, 
Blasting Pomona's hopes with shriveling frost, 
While Ceres mourns her golden treasure lost. 

No grateful sight to husbandmen appear 
One or more Comets, with their blazing hair — 
Forerunners of a parch'd and barren year. 



78 DIOSEMEIA. 

When numerous Birds their island home forsake, 
And to firm land their airy voyage make, 
The ploughman, watching their ill-omened flight, 380 
Fears for his golden fields a withering blight. 
Not so the goatherd — he their advent hails, 
As* certain promise of o'erflowing pails. 
And such is human life — the Fates ordain, 
That one man's loss should be another's gain., 
Coming events men anxious seek to know, 
Pregnant of joy to some — to some of woe. 

The shepherd, as a-field his charge he drives, 
From his own flock prognostics oft derives. 
When they impetuous seek the grassy plain, 390 

He marks the advent of the storm and rain ; 
And when grave Kams, and Lambkins full of play, 
Butt at each other's heads in mimic fray : 
When the horn'd leaders stamp the dusty ground 
With their fore-feet — all fours the young ones bound : 
When homeward, as the shades of night descend, 
Keluctantly and slow their way they wend, 
Stray from the flock, and linger one by one, 
Heedless of shepherd's voice, and missive stone. 

The herdsmen too, while yet the skies are fair, 400 
Warn'd by their Bullocks, for the storm prepare : 
When with rough tongue they lick their polished hoof — 
When bellowing loud they seek the sheltering roof — 



DIOSEMEIA. 79 

When from the yoke at close of day releas'd 
On his right side recumbs the wearied beast : 
When keenly pluck the Goats the oaken bough ; 
And deeply wallows in the mire the Sow. 

When through the dismal night the lone Wolf howls ; 
Or when at eve around the house he prowls ; 
And, grown familiar, seeks to make his bed, 410 

Careless of man, in some out-lying shed : 
Then mark : ere thrice Aurora shall arise, 
A horrid storm will sweep the blacken'd skies. 

E ? en Mice ofttimes prophetic are of rain, 
Nor did our sires their auguries disdain : 
When loudly piping with their voices shrill, 
They frolick'd dancing on the downy hill. 
Sign too of rain : his outstretch'd feet the Hound 
Extends, and curves his belly to the ground. 

Before the storm the Crab his briny home 420 

Sidelong forsakes, and strives on land to roam : 
The busy household Mice shake up with care 
Their strawy beds, and for long sleep prepare. 

Each sign observe : more sure when two agree ; 
Nor doubt th' event foretold by omens three. 
Note well th' events of the preceding year, 
And with the rising and the setting stars compare. 



80 DIOSEMEIA. 

But chiefly look to Cynthia's varying face ; 
There surest signs of coming weather trace. 
Observe when twice four days she veils her light, 430 
Nor cheers with silvery ray the dreary night. 

Mark these prognostics through the circling year, 
And wisely for the rain — the wind — the storm prepare. 



NOTES. 



Page 32. 

Skilful Aratus sings in easy vein 

Th' eternal gems that deck th' ethereal plain — 

The wandering Planets — and bright Stars that roll 

In their fix'd orbits round the central pole. 

Laud his great work — and rank him next to Jove, 

Who adds fresh lustre to the Stars above. 



NOTES ON THE PHENOMENA. 



Page 33. 

5. Tot) yap Kai yevos ecrfiev 

5. And we his offspring are. 

The ancient philosophers considered the procemium of Aratus, 
of which this passage forms a part, as applicable either nvdiKw? 
to Jove, Arj/Movpyos the Creator, or (ftvo-iKws to Jove, 'Ai0»/p the 
air. 

" TIpos to, ' Ylarrjp dvdpoov re BeoHv re.' el yap avros ravra 

ehrjaiovpyrja-e 7roo9 to to?? dvQpwrrois f3iuHpe\es } uvtov av kXvj- 

Oeitfjuev, avrov irarepa kou hrj/juovpyov enriypatyopevoi. Avvcltcu 

oe k<x\ cm tou ctepos' avrou yap e7r<o-7reu,uei/ot, a.'? e£ avTou ^w/ixev, 

oi/to? (^o)t]TiKOv, na\ Trjs 7ri'o»7? tip-dov aiTiov." 

(Scholiast.) 

From these words, which St Paul quoted to the philosophers 
of Athens to prove the unity of the godhead, Manillius deduces 
an argument for the immortality of the soul : 

" Jam nusquam natura latet : pervisimus omne, 
Et capto potimur mundo, nostrumque parentem 
Stirps sua perspicimus, genitique accedimus astris. 
An dubium est habitare Deum sub pectore nostro? 
In coelumque redire animas cceloque venire?" 

(Lib. iv. 883.) 

Page 33. 

16. Autos, Kai nporepr) yeverj 



" Vide Scholiasten, qui heroes, Perseum, Oriona, aliosque 
intelligit. Nonnulli ad Jovem ipsum referunt, et explicant avro\ 
Ka\ irporeptj yeverj, qui et ipse es et prima propago : cui quidem 

6—2 



84 NOTES. 

interpretation! favet Grotius, quod Jupiter sit Sol nonnullis et 

TTpwToyovos. Mihi neutrum sufficit; sed potius arbitror locum 

esse corruptum, et pro vulgato legendum esse 'AutoIs ko! irpoTeprj 

yeverj, ita, ut totum commation jungatur cum antecedenti dvdpta- 

Troio-ti/, et sensus exeat hie : salve pater, magna admiratio, magna 

kominibus utilitas, qui sunt et qui ante fuerunt." 

(Buhle.) 

Page 34. 

22 e^et 8' arakavrov arravrq 

Mecnxrjyos yalav 

21. Round a fix'd axis roll the starry skies: 
Earth, even balanc'd, in the centre lies. 

The ancients entertained the notion that the earth was a solid 
globe suspended in the centre of the heavenly bodies, which daily 
revolved round it on an imaginary axis. Manillius says : 

ff Quod nisi librato penderet pondere tellus, 

Non ageret currus, mundi subeuntibus astris, 

Phoebus ab occasu, et nunquam remearet ad ortus : 

Nee matutinis fulgeret Lucifer horis, 

Hesperos emenso dederat qui lumen Olympo." 
f 

"Aera pergelidum tenuis diducitur axis, 
Libratumque regit di verso cardine mundum : 
Sidereus circa medium quern volvitur orbis, 
iEthereosque rotat currus ; immotus at ille 
Austrinas arctos magni per inania mundi, 
Perque ipsum terrse directus constitit orbem." 



Page 34. 

26 Svg) 8e fxiv dficfrls €%ov(rai 

"A.pKroi apa rpo^oaxri 

25. Round this the Bears, with head to head reverse, 
And back to back, pursue their endless course. 



NOTES. 85 

Manillius closely imitates Aratus in his description of the 
constellations of the Bears : 

"Summa tenent ejus miseris notissima nautis 
Signa, per immensum cupidos ducentia pontum : 
Majoremque Helice major decircinat arcum. 
Septem ilium stellas certantes lumine signant : 
Qua duce per fluctus Graia? dant vela carina. 
Angusto Cynosura brevis torquetur in orbe, 
Quam spatio, tarn luce minor : sed judice vincit 
Majorem Tyrio. Pcenis hasc certior auctor, 
Non apparentem pelago quasrentibus oram. 
Nee paribus positas sunt frontibus. Utraque caudam 
Vergit in alterius rostrum, sequiturque sequentem." 

(i. 301.) 

Page 34. 

30 ei ereov 817, 

KprjrrjOev Keiva'i ye Aios fxeyaXov Iotijti, 
Ovpavov elo-avefirjaav 

27. With mortals once they dwelt; if truth belong 
To old tradition, and the Poet's song. 

Aratus prefaces the first fable which he introduces with 
el ct€ov hj : hereby shewing that he himself did not credit these 
fabulous notions, and cautioning his reader to distinguish between 
the astronomical truths and ornamental fictions of his poem. In 
like manner Germanicus says of the Goats in the constellation of 
Auriga : 

" una putatur 

Nutrix esse Jovis, si vere Jupiter infans 
Ubera Creteas mulsit fidissima caprce." 

There were various fables respecting the constellations of 
the Bears. The one adopted by Aratus is, that Helice and 
Cynosyra, two nymphs of Mount Ida in Crete, nursed the 
infant Jove, when his mother Ops secreted him for a year 
among the Corybantes from the cruel intention of his father 



86 NOTES. 

Saturn, who received the kingdom of the world from his bro- 
ther Titan on condition of not raising male children. Jupiter, 
in gratitude to his foster-nurses, gave them a place among the 
constellations. 



Page 34. 

37 ''EXlktj -ye fxev avdpcs 'Amatol 

~E.lv ak\ reicpaipovTai, Iva yjpr\ vrjas ayivelv, 
Tfj §' apa Qoivtices nia-vvoi Trepoaxri Oakavcrav. 

37. Pleasing to sight is Helice's bright team, 
And Grecian sailors hail her guiding beam. 

The Greeks guided their course by the constellation Helice ; 
but the Phoenicians, who were more skilful in astronomy and 
navigation, derived their observations from Cynosyra, the lesser 
constellation. 

It is in reference to this custom that Homer applies the 
epithet " 'EXtKwVe?," " observing Helice," to the Greek sailors : 

Ttju fxev yap <rvv vtfi 9orj 6\iKW7re? 'A-yaio\ 

'E? Xpuo-jyi/ TrepLTTOvaiv 

(II. i. 389.) 

" Esse duas Arctos, quarum Cynosura vocatur 

Sidoniis, Helicen Graia carina notat." 

(Ovid.) 

"Thales, qui diligenter de his rebus exquisivit et hanc pri- 
mus Arcton appellavit, natione fuit Phoenix, ut Herodotus 
Milesius dicit. Igitur omnes, qui Peloponnesum incolunt priore 
utuntur Arcto. Phcenices autem, quam a suo inventore acce- 
perunt, observant: et hac studiosius perspiciendo diligentius 
navigare existimantur et vere earn ab inventoris genere Phcenice 

appellant." 

(Hyginus.) 



NOTES. 87 



Page 35. 



61. Keivr) 7rov K€(j)aXrj rfj i/^erat, fj^i ivep aKpai 
Micryovrai dvaies re Kai dvTokai dXKq\rjo~i. 

53. His head upon the arctic wave he lays, 

Where blend the western with the eastern rays. 

The head, or Etauin the bright star in the head, of Draco 
touches the arctic circle. This circle on the ancient globe is 
the division between those constellations which set and those 
which never sink below the horizon: 6 fxev apkriKo? kv'kAo? 
d<popi£ei tcc de\ deiapovp-eva. (Proclus.) A star which lies upon 
this circle descends westerly to the horizon, and without disap- 
pearing rises easterly. 'EV a/coot? to?? tov wKeavov vhacriv ep")(€- 
rai. ov yap Karahverai, ctAA.' ok virtp avrou eiriv^^eTai." (Sch.) 
Hence the Poets said, at this point the east and west meet to- 
gether : 

ie 'E77J9 yap i/i/KTO? re kcli YjfxaTo<5 clcrt KeXevdoi," 

(Od. 8. 86.) 



Nu£ re nai ijpiepa da-aov tovcrai. 

(Hes. Theog. 748.) 

This circle was, according to Aratus, 52° north, corresponding 
with the latitude of Athens 38°. It may here be remarked that 
Aratus uses the words ocean and sea as synonymous to the hori- 
zon. Virgil imitates Aratus in his. description of the Dragon : 

Maxumus hie flexu sinuoso elabitur Anguis 

Circum, terque duas in morem fluminis Arctos, 

Arctos Oceani metuentes asquore tingi. 

(Georg. 1. 244.) 



Page 35. 

63. Trjs S' avrov poyeovn KvXivderai dv8p\ eoucos 

EtdaXop, to p,ev ov tis inio-TaTai dp.(pa86v dirfw, 
Ovde tivi Kpeparai neivos novco' dXXd piv avras 
'ENrONASIN Kakeovo-l. 



88 NOTES. 

57. A Labouring Man next rises to our sight: 

But what his task — or who this honour'd wight — 
No Poet tells. Upon his knee he bends, 
And hence his name Engonasin descends. 

This constellation has very improperly been changed into 

that of Hercules. There can be little doubt that on the ancient 

celestial sphere it represented our first parent Adam after the 

fall, as I have before endeavoured to shew. 

(pp. 18, 19.) 

Hyginus states that Eratosthenes called this constellation 
Hercules, but the alteration was not adopted by astronomers 
in the days of Augustus, as we learn from Manillius, who wrote 
his Astronomicon during that period : 

" Proximo fulgentes arctos Boreamque rigentem 
Nixa venit species genibus, sibi conscia causse." 

Again : 

" Nixa genu species et Graio nomine dicta 

Engonasi, ignota. facies sub origine constat." 

(v. 645.) 

This constellation is thus described by the Scholiast: 

YlXrjcriov Tr}<$ rov cpaKovros KecpaXrjs avop\ [xoyeovrt k<x\ na/j.- 
vovti of\oio<z KvXivZeTai. Ov na.6 avTov oe nvXivZerai' <rvyi«XTa- 
(pepo/jLevoo yap tw ovpavia <TvyKaTa(peperai' aXXa vrpos ty\v deaiv 
a.7rof3Xe7rei' xat yap o KActcra? na\ nan-airec-cov ccttiv, ok diro twos 
KafxaTov' irepi t>e tou Et'oajAov tovtoi/, ot/3et<? lo-TOprjcrai i'cr^iv<xe»/, 
aXXa fxovov tov ev yovvacriv auTO Trpoo'eitrov, ijyovv <av6}kacrav. 
'QkXci^ovti Be eoine Kara ty\v 6c<riv. E"BwAoi> Be ecrTtv dcpofxo'nafxa 
avdpoDTrov. 

According to Aratus he is in a kneeling position: his foot 
rests upon the head of Draco : he lifts his arms above the Lyre : 
his head reaches the head of Serpentarius, and he knows no rest ; 
his rising in the east commencing immediately after his setting 
in the west. Horace probably alludes to the position of the 



NOTES. 89 

Lyre in the heavens before the Labouring Man, in his Ode, 
" Ad Lyram :" 

" decus Phcebi, et dapibus supremi 
Grata testudo Jovis: laborum 
Dulce lenimen " 

Page 36. 

71. Avrov KaKeivos SreCpavos, top ayavbv Wrjice 

~2rjfx epevai Aiovvaos, cnroixopevrjs 'Apiadvrjs, 

63. Near shines that diamond crown, which Bacchus made 
For faithful Ariadne. 

Ariadne, daughter of Minos king of Crete, assisted Theseus 
in extricating himself from the labyrinth. He, according to 
his promise, married her and carried her away to Naxos, where 
he forsook her. Here Bacchus fell in love with her, and gave 
her a crown of seven diamonds, which after her death became a 
constellation. 

Page 36. 

83 6 §' ippeves ev irrap-qpcos 

TLo(T(t\v iiriBkifiei fieyadrjpiov dpCpoTepourt 

2KOp7TlOV 

71. His feet stamp Scorpio down — enormous beast — 

Aratus here terms Scorpio, Meyadtjplov, Megatherion, a great 
beast, so called from extending with his claws through two signs, 
or 60 degrees of the ecliptic. XjjAa's, the claws, occupying one 
whole sign, or 30 degrees, are termed peyd\a<?, (89.) 

Neio0t Be cnreipt)? jueyaAa? eiripiaieo X^Aa's. 
Beneath its coils the giant Claws are found. 

Page 36. 

92. top p avdpes €7riKkeiov(ri Bocottjj/, 

Ovve% apa^airjs e7ra(pa>pevos e'lderai "KpKrov. 

85. Through the long day he drives the Arctic Wain, 
And sinks reluctant in the western main. 



90 NOTES. 

"Tardus in occasu sequitur sua plaustra Bootes." 

(Germanic. 458.) 

The day of a star or constellation is the time of its being 
above, and the night the time of its being below the horizon. 
'H/aciti<k 3e v r nep r yeio<i. "Ei/i/u^os vTroyeios. (Schol. 580.) This 
constellation is above the horizon about sixteen hours ; and 
never altogether sets, as the hand of Bootes extends beyond 
the arctic circle. 



Page 36. 

97 7 p' lv X € P <Tl ( P^P €l crraxuv alyXrjevTa. 

89. In her left hand a golden spike she bears. 

Aratus says the Virgin holds the spike in her hands: Ger- 
manicus and the scholiasts place it in her left hand : 

" cui plena sinistra 

Fulget spica manu " 

Page 37- 

123. Otrjv xpvtreiot narepes yeverjv iXiirovro 

Xeiporeprjv, vp,e7s di KaKcorepa r i£elecr0e. 

117. Ye of your sires a vile degenerate race, 

Your offspring you their fathers will disgrace. 

" CEtas parentum pejor avis tulit 

Nos nequiores mox daturos 

Progeniem vitiosiorem." 

(Hor. Od. ii. 7- 46.) 



Page 37- 

137. TrjS vnep ap.(^OT€pa)v Sp.a>v elkicrcreTat daTrjp 

AetjiTepf) nrepvyi' II par pvyrjTrjp §' avre Kakelrcu. 

137. Sparkle her golden wings with crystal light — 
One gem they bear superlatively bright. 



NOTES. 91 

npoTpvyrjTrjp, Protrugeter, or Praevindemiator, (Vindema- 
trix), "The forerunner of the vintage," so called on account of 
its rising with the sun near the autumnal equinox. 

Page 38. 

143. Olds oi Trpb nobaiv (peperai Kakos re peyas re' 
Els pev v7Ta>paia)v, els 6° l^voBev KaTiovronv, 
*A\\os d y ovpalois vno yovvaerw' 

141. One gem upon her snow-white shoulder shines: 
One clasps the silken girdle of her loins : 
One decks her bending knee 

Uep\ tuiv Trjs UapBevov da-Tepwv BittAe'yeTCu, on TrXrjcriou tow 
YlpoTpvyrjTrjpos elcriv do-repes B. ek pev irpo Ttav irodoov avTrjs, 
ek oe virep tou? wpovs, ek he diro Tr\<z oanpvos, ek he peTa^v 
T17? ovpas kcl\ twi/ OTricrdiwv yovaTOiv Tri<z peyd\r}<z "Apurov. 

(Scholiast.) 

" Yirginis at placidae prsestanti lumine signat 

Stella humeros, Helicen ignis non clarior ambit, 

Quique micat cauda, quique armum fulget ad ipsum, 

Quique priora tenet vestigia, quique secunda 

Clunibus hirsutis, et qui sua sidera reddit." 

( Germanicus. ) 

" Non intellexit Aratum Germanicus ; ille tres tantum stellas 
refert, hie quinque. Recte hos versus interpretatus est Avienus : 

Qua sunt prima ferae vestigia, praeminet ignis ; 
Altera, qua pedibus regio est clunalibus, ardet 
Stella itidem; genibusque dehinc se tertia promit." 

(Buhle.) 

According to this interpretation, the punctuation of the 
passage is thus : 

Oio? oi irpo irohwv (peperat kciAo? t€ pe'ya^ re 
Yik fxev vVto/jioua)!/, ek l^vodeu KaTtoi/Tcoi/ 5 
AAAo? ovpaiois vtto yovvacriv. 

I have taken the three stars as those on the shoulder, loins, 
and knee of the Virgin. 



92 NOTES. 



Page 38. 



145. * aXX' apa iravres 

AnXooc, oXXodev aXkos avcovvpirj (popeovrat. 

145. Many less brilliant stars, by name unknown, 

Spangle her vestments, and her forehead crown. 

From these stars was formed the new constellation Coma 
Berenices. The story is, that Berenice, the wife and sister of 
Evergetes, when her husband went upon a dangerous expedition, 
vowed all the hair of her head to the goddess Venus if she 
would restore him to her in safety. Upon his victorious re- 
turn, her locks were cut off and dedicated to the Goddess in 
her temple at Cyprus. Upon these locks disappearing from 
the temple, Conon the astronomer, to flatter the queen, reported 
that Jupiter had stolen them away, and made them a con- 
stellation. Hence the lines of Callimachus : 

"^H Be Ko'i/wi/ ef3\e\jye ev r\epi rov V>epov'iKt}<? 
Bo(ttou^oi/, ov t apa netvr] iracnv edrjue 6eoT(rtv." 

According to some these stars originally belonged to the tail 
of the Lion. 

Page 38. 

147. Kpari 8e ol A&vpoi' peao-j) §' vtto KapKwos (art. 
Uoaal 5' oTViaOorepoiai Aecov V7r6 KaXa cpastvei. 

147. The Twins, beneath the muzzle of the Bear, 
Parted on earth, but join'd for ever here, 
Together shine: Her middle part below, 
The stars in Cancer few, and faintly glow : 
'Neath her hind feet, as rushing on his prey, 
The lordly Lion greets the God of day. 

Aratus divides the greater Bear into three portions : her 
head is over Gemini, her middle parts over Cancer, and her 
hind legs over Leo ; and we may add, her tail over Virgo ; and 
thus from this well-known constellation the position of four signs 
of the Zodiac may be found. 



NOTES. 93 

Castor and Pollux were considered propitious stars to sailors : 
to this Horace alludes : 

" Dicam et Alcidem, puerosque Ledas, 
Hunc equis, ilium superare pugnis 
Nobilem : quorum simul alba nautis 

Stella refulsit, 
Defluit saxis agitatus humor: 
Concidunt venti, fugiuntque nubes : 
Et minax, quod sic voluere, ponto 
Unda recumbit." 

" 'OfnaQoTepoKTi" is preferable to the common reading " i/V 
dp<pnT€poicri." (148.) 

Page 39. 

152. Trjpos kcu KeXddovres 'En/crou evpe'i ttovtco 
'AdpOOl ipTTLTTTOVCnV 

159 o'er ocean sweep 

Th' Etesian winds 

" Oi 'YiTrjcriai diro Trjs Kui/o? ecoas eViTo^.f/9 we eir\ tvXsigtov 

e^r]Kovra tjpepas wveova-iu. covopda-drjcrav Be oirrw?, rj oti k<zt 

6T09 Trveovcriv tous TaKTa?? avTwv tipepais rrapa eros' y\ to ereoY, 

cia to prjheTTOTe p.eTa/3d\\eiv avTou<?, otuv 6 Kuipos avT<Sv ivcrTrj. 

KaAwe Be rot peyaXa <ri<d(pr] totc ~£pr}<rifxa' rore yap to Kvpa 

peja^ Ka\ to 7rv€vfxa acpodpou." 

(Scholiast.) 

Page 39. 

156. Et 8e rot 'Hvloxov re kcu dare pas c Hi/i'o^oio 
^KeTTTearBat doKtoi 

165. Next the broad back and sinewy limbs appear 
Of fam'd Auriga 

Auriga is known under various names by the poets. Eric- 
thonius, a king of Athens, is said to have been the first who 
yoked four horses to the chariot, on which account he was 



94 NOTES. 

honoured with a place among the constellations. Aratus and 
Manillius call him Heniochus, quasi tjviav e'x w,/ > "habenas- 
tenens." 

" Turn vicina ferens nixo vestigia tauro 
Heniochus, studio mundumque et nomen adeptus; 
Quern primum curru volitantem Jupiter alto 
Quadrijugis conspexit equis, cceloque sacravit." 

(Man. i. 368.) 

" Primus Ericthonius currus et quatuor ausus 

Jungere equos." 

(Georg. in. 113.) 

Capella and the Hcedi were considered inauspicious stars to 
mariners : 

"Hanc Auriga humero gerit, ac manus hcedos 

Ostendit nautis inimicum sidus in undis." 

(Virg. ^n. ix.) 

"Turn subeunt Hcedi claudentes sidere pontum 

Nubibus. " 

(Man. i. 372.) 

" neque 

Tumultuosum sollicitat mare, 

Nee sasvus Arcturi cadentis 

Impetus, aut orientis Hcedi." 

(Hor.) 



Page 40. 

167. Ilap 7Tocr\ S' 'Hvlo^ov Kepabv 7r€7rTr)OTa Tavpov 
Maieadai 

179. Beneath Auriga, turning to the east, 
The Tyrian Bull 

Three of the Zodiac signs, Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer, 
rise backward, or looking to the east : the other nine rise for- 
ward to the west. 

To this Ovid alludes, when Phoebus directs Phaeton: 

" Per tamen adversi gradieris cornua Tauri." 



NOTES. 95 

And Manillius : 

" Quin tria signa novem serie conjuncta repugnant, 

Et quasi seditio ccelum tenet. Aspice Taurum 

Clunibus, et Geminos pedibus, testudine Cancrum 

Surgere: cum rectis oriantur cetera membris. 

Nee mirere moras, cum sol ad versa per astra 

iEstivum tardis attollat mensibus annum. 

(ii. 197.) 

The sun is 187 days passing through Aries, Taurus, Gemini 
Cancer, Leo, Virgo, from 21st of March to the 24th of Sep- 
tember; and only 178 in passing through Libra, Scorpio, Sagit- 
tarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, Pisces. This the poet ascribes 
to the opposition the sun meets with in these three constellations. 
The ancient astronomers observed that the motion of the sun 
was slower in the summer than in the winter months, and 
might mark this phenomenon by the reversed position of these 
three constellations on their celestial sphere. 

In one passage, Yirgil makes the year to commence when 
the sun is in the constellation of the Bull : 

" Candidus auratis aperit quum cornibus annum 
Taurus, et adverso cedens Canis occidit astro." 

(Georg. i. 216.) 

In another to end when the sun is in Aquarius : 

" quum frigidus olim 

Jam cadit, extremoque inrorat Aquarius anno.' 

(Georg. in. 303.) 

Page 40. 

172. ovde toi avTtos 

N77 kovcttoc 'Yades, rai \xkv p iirl navrl perano) 
Tavpov /3e/3Xearcu 

184. With sparkling gems his brow the Hyads tire. 

Manillius, in allusion to the Hyades and Pleiades, terms the 

Bull, " dives puellis/' " rich in virgins." 

(iv. 522.) 



96 NOTES. 

According to Hesiod there were five Hyads : 

" vvjxcpai Xaptreo-cii/ ofxolai, 

Oat(ruA»7, rjhe Kopwi/is, iv(TT€(pav6<s re KAteia, 
$>aiu) 6 ljjL€p6e<r(ra, ko.\ Yjvhwpr] ravvTreirXo^' 
'A? Ya3a? KaXeovcriv ctti ydov\ (jyvX.' dvOpcuTrwv." 

Page 40. 

176. avveX^Xapevoi 8e (fitpovrai- 

'A\\' del Tavpos Trpofyepevrepos 'Hvio^oto 
Ets ireprjv KaTaftrjvai, SfxrjXvcrir] nep dveXBcov. 

187. The beast before him to the west descends — 
Together with him from the east ascends. 

The correctness of this statement of Aratus is best seen by 
consulting the celestial globe. It may here be observed that in 
any reference to the sphere, the latitude of Athens, which was 
38° north, must be adopted. 



Page 40. 

179. Oi»S' apa Kr)<firjos poyepov yevos laarldao 
Avrccs app-qrov KaraKeicrerai. 

189. Unhappy Cepheus, though of race divine! 

The story of Cepheus and his family supply no less than 
six constellations to the celestial globe : that is to say, the 
Greek poets have appropriated so many of the figures on the 
ancient sphere to their history : Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, 
Perseus, Pegasus, and Cetus. The following is the poetical 
version of it: 

Cepheus king of ^Ethiopia had a daughter, Andromeda, by 
his wife Cassiopeia. Neptune sent a sea-monster, Cetus, to 
ravage his country, because Cassiopeia had boasted herself fairer 
than the Nereides. An oracle of Jupiter declared that nothing 
could appease the resentment of Neptune, unless Andromeda was 
exposed to the sea-monster. She was accordingly chained naked 



NOTES. 97 

to a rock ; but, as the monster was going to devour her, Perseus 
returned from the conquest of the Gorgons on the winged horse 
Pegasus, destroyed the monster, rescued Andromeda, and for 
his reward obtained her in marriage. The story divested of its 
poetical embellishments is this : Some commander of a ship, named 
"the Cetus," "the Whale," or "Great Fish,"* was about to 
carry away Andromeda, the daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia, 
when Perseus arrived from an expedition against the Gorgons 
in his ship " Pegasus," " the Flying Horse," and engaging in a 
naval contest with his rival, overcame him, delivered Andro- 
meda, and as a reward for his gallantry obtained her in marriage. 
According to Pliny (Bk. 5. Ch. 21.) the scene of this adventure 
lay at Joppa in Judea. 

Page 40. 

186. Avrap onro {covrjs okiyov Ke pierafiktyeias 
IlpaTTjv lefxevos KafXTrrjv ctkoXloIo dp&Kovros. 

195. Near to the studded girdle of his waist 

Lies the huge coil of Draco's speckled breast. 

On our modern globes it is the second, and not the first 
coil of Draco, which is placed near the waist of Cepheus. 

Page 41. 

192. Olrjvde kXtjIBc dvprjv evTovff apapvlav 

AikAi'S' iTmfKrj(T(TOVT€s dvaKpovovcrtv oxrjes, 
Tolov toi povva^ v7TOKeip€Voi IvdaXkovrai 
"Ao-repes. 

201. When the bifolding door the warder bars, 
His crooked key depict her glittering stars. 

* " Navis Kj)to§ dicta quae (irpoTo/juju) protomen ceti in prora prseferebat 
tj KriToirpwpos. Eaadem naves /c?)Ti5es et /c^rrji/ai dicebantur. (Hofm.) 

u KrjTtjvii, ifkoiov /meya cos /cfjTOS." (Hesych.) 

Virgil adopts u Pristis," the Latin of Kijtos, for the name of one of 
his ships : 

"Velocem Mnestheus agit acri remige Pristin." (iEn. v. 116.) 



98 NOTES. 

The Scholiasts, Germanicus, Festus Avienus, and with them 
Scaliger and Salmasius, consider that the poet alludes to the 
Laconian key. Huetius maintains that it is not the Laconian 
key, but a more ancient one in the form of a sickle ; such as 
Homer gives to Penelope, evaa/nirea KXq'iha, according to Eusta- 
thius "Speiravoeihri" " sickle-shaped ;" and he confirms his opinion 
by a figure. 



# * * 



# 



# # 




Page 41. 

197. Avtov yap Kaxelvo KvXivberai alvbv ayaXfxa 
'Ai/SpojLteS^s. 

205. Near, young Andromeda, more splendid far. 

The description of Andromeda, and of her deliverance from 
the sea-monster by Perseus, is one of the most beautiful passages 
in the Astronomicon of Manillius : 

"Hanc quondam poena* dirorum culpa parentum 
Prodidit, infestus totis cum finibus omnis 
Incubuit pontus, timuit Maurusia tellus. 
Proposita est merces, vesano dedere ponto 
Andromedan, teneros ut bellua manderet artus. 
Hie Hymenaaus erat : solataque publica damna 
Privatis lacrymis ornatur victima poena?, 
Induiturque sinus non hasc ad vota paratos, 



NOTES. 99 

Virginis et viva? rapitur sine funere funus. 
Ac simul infesti ventum est ad littora ponti, 
Mollia per duras panduntur brachia cautes : 
Et cruce virginea moritura puella pependit. 
Servatur tamen in poena cultusque pudorque. 
Supplicia ipsa decent. Nivea cervice reclinis 
Molliter ipsa, sua3 custos est ipsa figurae. 
Defluxere sinus humeris, fugitque lacertos 
Vestis, et effusi scapulis lusere capilli. 
Te circum Alcyones pennis planxere volantes, 
Fleveruntque tuos miserando carmine casus, 
Et tibi contextas umbram fecere per alas. 
Ad tua sustinuit fluctus spectacula pontus, 
Assuetasque sibi desiit perfundere ripas. 
Extulit et liquido Nereis ab sequore vultus ; 
Et casus miserata tuos roravit et undas. 
Ipsa, levi flatu ref ovens pendentia membra, 
Aura per extremas resonavit flebile rupes. 
Tandem Gorgonei victorem Persea monstri 
Felix ilia dies redeuntem ad littora duxit. 
Isque, ubi pendentem vidit de rupe puellam, 
Diriguit, facies quern non stupefecerat hostis. 
Vixque manu spalium tenuit : victorque Medusas 
Victus in Adromeda est. Jam cautibus invidet ipsis, 
FeKcesque vocat, teneant quaa membra, catenas. 
At postquam poena? causam cognovit ab ipsa, 
Destinat in thalamos per bellum vadere ponti, 
Altera si Gorgo veniat, non territus ire. 
Concitat aerios cursus, flentesque parentes 
Promissu vitaa recreat, pactusque maritum 
Ad littus remeat. Gravidus jam surgere pontus 
Coeperat, et longo fugiebant agmine fluctus 
Impellentis onus monstri. Caput eminet undas 
Scandentis, pelagusque vomit. Circumsonat asquor 
Dentibus, inque ipso rapidum mare navigat ore. 
Hinc vasti surgunt immensis torquibus orbes, 
Tergaque consumunt pelagus. Sonat undique Syrtis, 

7—2 



100 NOTES. 

Atque ipsi metuunt montes, scopulique ruentem. 

Infelix virgo, quamvis sub vindice tanto, 

Quae tua tunc fuerat facies? quam fugit in auras 

Spiritus? ut toto caruerunt sanguine membra? 

Cum tua fata cavis e rupibus ipsa videres, 

Adnantemque tibi poenam, pelagusque ferentem, 

Quantula praeda maris? Plausis hie subvolat alis 

Perseus, et coelo pendens sic fertur in hostem, 

Gorgoneo tinctum defigens sanguine ferrum. 

Ilia subit contra, versamque a gurgite frontem 

Erigit, et tortis innitens orbibus alte 

Emicat, ac toto sublimis corpore fertur. 

Sed quantum ilia subit, seque ejaculata profundo est, 

Is tantum revolat, laxumque per asthera ludit 

Perseus, et Ceti subeuntis verberat ora. 

Nee cedit tamen ilia viro, sed saevit in auras 

Morsibus, et vani crepitant sine vulnere dentes. 

Efflat et in ccelum pelagus, mergitque volantem 

Sanguineis undis, pontumque extollit in astra. 

Spectabat pugnam pugnandi causa puella; 

Jamque oblita sui, metuit pro vindice tali 

Suspirans, animoque magis quam corpore pendet. 

Tandem confossis subsedit bellua membris, 

Plena maris, summasque iterum remeavit ad undas, 

Et magnum vasto contexit corpore pontum, 

Tunc quoque terribilis, nee virginis ore videnda." 

(Lib. v. 540— 611.) 

Ovid represents Andromeda as of a dark complexion: 

"Candida si non sum, placuit Cepheia Perseo 
Andromede, patriae fusca colore suae." 

(Sapp. ad Phaon.) 

Manillius describes her as fair, "nivea cervice." 



NOTES. 101 



Page 41. 



206. £wos §' iirCKdpnerai ao-nyp, 

Tov pev, in dftfpakicp' rrjs §', €crx aT ° a>VTl Kaprjva). 

213. So close they meet, one brilliant star they share, 
His body it adorns — and decks her hair. 

The bright star Alpherat on the head of Andomeda touches 
the extremity of the figure of Pegasus, and is one of the stars 
in the square, by which this constellation is distinguished. 



Page 42. 

220. ol 8e pofxfjes 

JJpa>Toi Keivo ttotov 8ie(prjpi(rav "imrov Kpr)vr)v. 

227. And hence the name 

Of Hippocrene 

" 'iTnrovKptjvri" " Hippocrene," " the fountain of the horse." 



Page 42. 

225. Avtov Kai Kpioio OocoTarai eicrt KeXcvdoi. 
233. The furious Ram pursues a swift career. 

The Ram lying on the equator, the centre of the sphere, 
describes the greatest possible diurnal circle, and in the same 
time as the more northern constellations run their smaller circles. 
Hence Aratus says, BotaraTai d<n KeXvdoi. The Ram, being a 
very important constellation, as the sun enters it at the vernal 
equinox, and containing no very bright stars, the poet marks 
its position in the heavens by other more conspicuous stars. 
He is to be found, he says, to the south of Deltoton, the Tri- 
angle, and under the bright star Mirach in the girdle of Andro- 
meda; he runs also in the same path as Chelae, the claws, and 
the belt of Orion, both which lie on the equator. 



102 NOTES. 

The Ram was depicted as recumbent, and looking back- 
ward to the east. Manillius represents him in one place as 
admiring his own golden fleece : 

"Et sua respiciens aurato vellera tergo" 

(ii. 214.) 

and in another as looking with astonishment to see the Bull 
rising backward way. 

"Aurato princeps Aries in vellere fulgens 

Respicit, admirans aversum surgere Taurum." 

(i. 264.) 



Page 43. 

258. Avrap oy iv ftopea) (peperai nepip^Keros aXkcov. 
256. His giant strides the blue vault climb. 

" O Be iv tco /3opeiu> ecrri kukXco twv ciWcov pei\jov Kara Trjv 

(pavracriav, Trjs tc YLa<r<Tie , Treia<z i kcl\ avTov tov Y^rjcpew^. 

(Sch.) 

Aratus applies the epithet " irepipuriKeTo^" "very long," to 
Perseus, as his right hand reaches to Cassiopeia's chair, and his 
left foot beyond the Pleiades. 

"Moles ipsa viri satis est testata parentem." 

(Germanicus.) 



Page 43. 

252. to. $ iv noo\v ola 8icok(ov 

"\\via prjKvvec, tceicovicrpivos ev Ait narpi. 

256. and move 

A cloud of dust in heaven 

The poet represents Perseus as moving a dust in heaven. 
This may be expressive of the great haste with which he is 
rushing to the deliverance of Andromeda, in imitation of Homer's 
Kovlriv ireltoio ; but more probably alludes to his position in 



NOTES. 103 

the heavens, one of his feet being within and the other without 
the milky way. 

" Pulverulentus uti de terra elapsu' repente." 

(Cicero.) 



Page 43. 

254. "Ayx 1 &* 0l (TMuys iiriyovvibos rjXida 7ra<rcu 
Tikrj'iddes (popeovrai 

259. Near his left knee the Pleiads next are roll'd. 

Aratus places the Pleiads as a constellation near the left 
knee of Perseus : in our modern globes they lie in the Bull, 
under his left foot. Manillius places them in the Bull : 

"Aversus venit in ccelum, divesque puellis, 

Pleiadum parvo referens glomeramine sidus." 

(iv. 522.) 

The Pleiads were called by the Romans " Vergiliae." They 
were objects of much observation to the ancients, rising in spring 
with the sun, and in autumn setting with that luminary. 



Page 43. 

257. c E7rTa7ropoi br) rai ye per avdpa>7rov$ vdeovrai, 
"E| olai nep iovaai eno^nai 6<p6dkp.olaiv. 

263. Their number seven, though some men fondly say, 
And Poets feign, that one has pass'd away. 

The poet alludes to the notion that one of the Pleiads had 
perished; and which he states to be a mere fable. Its origin 
is very evident. The astronomers of Assyria, through their clear 
atmosphere, could distinguish seven stars in this constellation, 
and figured seven on their sphere; but the Greeks, unable to 
see more than six, invented the fable of one of them having 
vanished away. 



104 NOTES. 

Page 44. 

268. Kat XeXvs, rjr oXiyr)- tt)V §' ap en kcu irapa \Uvg> 
'Epfxeias erdprja-e. , 

275. When the mute shell, by cords elastic bound 
Made vocal, warbled forth harmonious sound. 

Mercury is said to have discovered musical sounds, and to 
have invented the Lyre, which Jove immediately raised to heaven; 
that is, upon musical instruments being invented, they were im- 
mediately employed in the temples in the services of the Gods. 
Thus Horace : 

"Mercuri, nam te docilis magistro 
Movit Amphion lapides canendo, 
Tuque testudo, resonare septem 

Callida nervis : 
Nee loquax olim, neque grata, nunc et 
Divitum mensis, et arnica templis, 
Die modos 

Page 44. 

275. "Htoi yap Kai Zrjvl irapaTp^i aloXos "Opvis. 
283. Jove's mottled Swan 

The poet properly applies the epithet a\6\o<z, "variegated," 
"mottled," to the Swan. It lies in that part of the heavens 
where the milky way forks into two parts. Its body, tail, neck, 
central part of right wing, and part of the head, lie on the milky 
way, its other parts without. Hence it is completely mottled. 

Page 44. 

287. Mt) Kelvco eVi prjvl 7repiK\v£oio Qakaaay. 
299. Hapless the mariners, who rashly brave. 

Longinus cites this passage of Aratus to shew the striking 
effect of a change of persons in making the hearer think him- 



NOTES. 105 

self really present and concerned in dangers, when only attentive 
to the recital of them. 

" 'Ei/ayco'i/ios B' oiAoioos kcli q twv Trpocrioirtov avTipeTaQe<ri<i, Kai 
TroXActKt? ev fxecrois to?? kii/Bi/i/oi? iroiovcra tov anpoa.Tr}v coneTv 
<TTpe(p€(r6ar 

'O "Aparo? : 

M*7 K€iv(a ev\ /mrjui TrepixXutyio daXaa-atj" 

(Sect, xxvi.) 



Page 45. 

299 okiyov be bia £vkov di$ epvKci. 

311. a plank of wood 

'Twixt them and Stygian Pluto's drear abode. 

"Munit et hos breve lignum, et fata instantia pellit; 
Nam tantum a leto, quantum rate fluctibus absunt." 

(Germanicus.) 

Longinus, having quoted the description of a storm from 
Homer (II. 15. 624), remarks, that Aratus has imitated the 
passage ; and in these words, " dxlyov Be hid £v\ov aitf epvuet" " a 
slender plank preserves them from Hades," instead of increasing 
the terrible, has lessened it, and refined it away; putting a 
limit to their danger by saying i( £v\ov d'ih' epvKei" " the plank 
preserves them from Hades." While Homer puts no bounds 
to the terrible, but represents the sailors continually only not 
swallowed up by each wave. 

The following is the passage from Homer : 

" 'Ei/ B' eirecr , cJ? otc kv/jlu dorj ev vr}\ 7re<rr]<Tt 
Ad/3pov virai v€(peiav, dvepoTpecpes ' t] Be tc irdaa 
' A-^vrj v7reKpv(pvt], ave/aoio he heivos dtJTrjs 
I<TTtft) epfipep-eTai" Tpopeovai 6e tc (ppeva vavTat 
AeiBtOTe?' tvtOov yap vir ex BavaToio (pepovrai." 



] 06 NOTES. 



Page 46. 



316. AeX(p\s B* ov paXa 7ToXX6s eniTpe^i alyoKepij'i, 

Mi(T(r66ev -qepoeis' ra 8e ol 7repl Teaaapa Kelrat 
TXijvea, napftokadrju 8vo, nap dvo 7re7JT?7 caret. 

331. Where Capricorn his horned forehead rears, 

Not distant far his course the Dolphin steers — 

****** 

With four fair stars he decks the summer skies, 
Sparkling and soft as maiden's beauteous eyes. 

The Dolphin was considered by the ancients as the most 
remarkable of fishes. See Pliny, Nat. Hist. ix. vin. 

" Yelocissimum omnium animalium, non solum marinorum, 

est Delphinus, ocyor volucre, acrior telo Delphinus 

non homini tantum amicum animal, verum et musicae arti, mul- 
cetur symphonic cantu, et prascipue hydrauli sono. Hominem 
non expavescit, ut alienum : obviam navigiis venit, alludit ex- 
ultans, certat etiam, et quamvis plena praaterit vela." 

" Turn quoque de ponto surgit Delphinus ad astra, 
Oceani coelique decus, per utrumque sacratus." 

(Manil. i. 353.) 

The fable attached to the constellation of the Dolphin is this : 
Neptune desired to take to wife Amphitrite, who had made a vow 
of perpetual celibacy, upon which she fled from him, and secreted 
herself among the islands of Atlas. The amorous god sent vari- 
ous messengers in search of her, and among them the Dolphin, 
who at last found her, and persuaded her to return to Neptune. 
The god rewarded the obedient and active fish by placing him 
among the constellations. 

The Dolphin, no doubt, was the sign and name of a fast- 
sailing vessel. 

Aratus terms the four stars in this constellation, which form 
an irregular parallelogram, " TXtjvea" " Glenea." TXtjvij is " the 
eye," or " image in the pupil of the eye," hence also " a young- 
maiden." 

" 7rot^T(Kto5 he elire tovs do-Tepas yXijvea' yXrjvrj yap i<mv t\ 

ev rep o(pQaXfX03 Koprj." 

(Scholiast.) 



NOTES. 107 



Page 46. 



322. Ao£-6s pev Tavpoio Toy.fi vnoKeKkiTai avros 
'{2piW. 

343. Athwart the Bull first rise — majestic sight ! 
Orion's giant limbs and shoulders bright. 

Orion was a celebrated constellation from the splendour of his 
stars, and also from his position in the heavens : 
Cernere vicinum Geminis licet Oriona 
In magnam cceli pandentem brachia partem ; 
Nee minus extento surgentem ad sidera passu : 
Singula fulgentes humeros cui lumina signant. 
Et tribus obliquis demissus ducitur ensis. 
At caput Orion excelso immensus Olympo 
Per tria subducto signatur lumina vultu : 

Non quod clara minus, sed quod magis ilia recedant. 

(Man. n 395.) 

Maximus Orion magnumque amplexus Olympum. 

(Man. v. 58.) 

On the face of Orion are three small stars, to which Manillius 
alludes : 

" Per tria subducto signatur lumina vultu." 

" Orion is distinguished by three stars on his face bent back- 
ward :" in this position Orion was drawn on the ancient sphere : 
his head bent backward, so that his face was visible, although his 
back was turned to the spectator. These three stars were called 
JuGUi^E, and hence the constellation itself bore the name of Ju- 
gula. They were important stars with the ancient astronomers, 
rising with the sun on the day of the summer solstice. (Vid. 
Pet. Dan. Huet. animadver. in Manil. Astron. i. 174.) (See note 
v. 636.) 

Page 46. 

326. Tolas oi K.a\ (ppovpos deipofxevai vno vg>t<o 

<J>cuVerai dfJLCpoTepoicn Kvcov \mb noaat (3e(3r)Ka>s, 
HoiklKos 

347- Nor with less ardour, pressing on his back, 
The mottled Hound pursues his fiery track. 



108 NOTES. 

Homer styles Sirius (this name is as often applied to the con- 
stellation itself as to the bright star in the mouth of the Dog) 
" kvv 'Qptcovos" " the dog of Orion." Aratus applies the epithet 
" iroiKiXo<s" " mottled," to the dog, for the same reason as he 
does aloXos to " Olor," the Swan. The back of the dog lies on 
the milky- way, his other parts without it. 

" Subsequitur rapido contenta canicula cursu, 

Qua nullum terris violentius advenit astrum. 

Hanc qui surgentem, primo cum redditur ortu, 

Montis ab excelso speculantur vertice Tauri, 

Proventus frugum varios, et tempora discunt ; 

Quaaque valetudo veniat, concordia quanta. 

Bella facit, pacemque refert, varieque revertens 

Sic movet, ut vidit, mundum, vultuque gubernat. 

Magna fides hoc posse, color, cursusque micantis 

In radios : vix sole minor ; nisi quod procul haarens 

Frigida cceruleo contorquet lumina vultu. 

Cetera vincuntur specie, nee clarius astrum 

Tingitur oceano, ccelumve revisit ab undis." 

(Man. 1.403.) 

Horace, in his ode " Ad fontem Blandusise," says : 

"Te flagrantis atrox hora Caniculae 
Nescit tangere "... 

Sirius, when in conjunction with the Sun, was considered the 
cause of the excessive heat of the Dog-days ; and when in opposi- 
tion, " procul hasrens," as occasioning the severe cold of the nights 
during the winter. 

"Non secus ac liquida si quando nocte cometas 

Sanguinei lugubre rubent ; aut Sirius ardor : 

Hie sitim morbosque ferens mortalibus aegris 

Nascitur, et laevo contristat lumine ccelum." 

(En. 10. 275.) 



NOTES. 109 

Page 47. 

331. os pa paXiara 

'O^ea aeipiaer kcli p,iv Ka\eov<r avOpconoi 
"Seipiov. 

351. Men call him Sirius — for his blasting breath 
Dries mortals up in pestilence and death. 

Sirius is not derived, as Aratus and the Scholiasts imply, from 
a Greek verb ; but the Greek verbs, " ^.eipew," " to dry up :" 
" ILeipidu)" " to burn by the rays of the sun, or of a star ;" and 
*Z,aipw, " Hio," " to open the mouth as an angry dog," are de- 
rived from 'Zeiptos, the Greek form of "^, a Phoenician word, 
signifying, " princeps," " chief," " the chief star," " a title of the 
sun." 

Page 47- 

339 avrap 6y alel 

2€ipios eg67ri8ev (peperai periovTi eoucas. 

359 the Hare before him flies — 

Close he pursues her through the southern skies. 

Manillius says that those men who are born under the influ- 
ence of Sirius, are greatly addicted to the sports of the field, and 
adds: 

"Nee tales mirere artes sub sidere tali; 
Cernis, ut ipsum etiam sidus venetur in astris? 
Pra3gressum quasrit leporem comprendere cursu." 

(v. 231.) 

Page 47. 

342. *H 8e Kwoy peyakoio Kar ovprfv TkKcrai 'Apyut 

Hpvp,v66ev' ov yap rfj ye Kara XP* 0S €L(ri KeXeutfoi, 
'AAX' om6ev (peperai reTpappevr], oia nal avral 
Nfjes, orav 8r) vavrai eTriTpeyjroxri Kopavrjv, 
Opp.ov io~epx6p,€voi.. 

363. Near to the quarters of Orion's hound 

Steers through the azure vault her nightly round 



110 NOTES. 

The far-fam'd ship, in which bold Jason's crew- 
First dar'd dark ocean's trackless path pursue. 
When a swift vessel ploughs her watery way, 
With forward prow she meets the dashing spray; 
But when deep laden back from distant land 
She comes, with forward poop a clamorous band 
Of joyous sailors haul her to the strand. 
And thus with forward poop, and prow reverse, 
The heavenly Argo steers her westward course. 

The celestial Argo is not borne through the heavens in the 

usual manner of a sailing vessel with the prow forward, but 

with the poop: in the manner of a vessel being drawn to 

land. Yirgil frequently alludes to this custom : 

" Obvertunt pelago proras : turn dente tenaci 

Ancora fundabat naves." 

(Mn. vi. 3.) 

" Continuo puppes abrumpunt vincula ripis, 

Delphinumque modo demersis aequora rostris 

Ima petunt " 

(JEn. ix. 118.) 

Page 48. 

353. Trjv be kcll ovk okiyov ntp a7ro7rpo$i TreTTTrjviav 
'Avdpojiedrjv peya Krjros inep-)(6pevov fcar^re/yet. 

376. Mark where the savage Cetus couching eyes 
Andromeda, secure in northern skies. 

" Lasva sub extremis consurgunt sidera Ceti 
Piscibus Andromedam ponto coeloque sequentis." 

(Man. v. 656.) 

Page 48. 



373 to. rts avbpav ovuer iovrav 

y JL(ppd(ra.T j;S' evorjo-ev cmavr Svopaarl KaXicraai, 
"a\i0a popcpacras 

398. These heavenly signs some wise and ancient man, 
Skilful and apt the realms of night to scan, 
Devis'd and figur'd: 



NOTES. Ill 

There is a beautiful passage in Manillius respecting the 
constellations, in which the Stoic Philosopher appeals to the 
beauty, order, and immutability of the heavenly bodies as a 
refutation of the atheistical notions of Democritus and Epi- 
curus : 

" Non varios obitus norunt, variosque recursus : 
Certa sed in proprias oriuntur singula luces, 
Natalesque suos occasumque ordine servant. 
Nee quicquid in tanta magis est mirabile mole, 
Quam ratio, et certis quod legibus omnia parent. 
Nusquam turba nocet, nihil ullis partibus errat, 
Laxius aut brevius mutatove ordine fertur. 
Quid tam confusum specie, quid tarn vice certum est? 
Ac mihi tam prsesens ratio non ulla videtur, 
Qua pateat mundum divino numine verti, 
Atque ipsum esse Deum : nee forte coisse magistra ; 
Ut voluit credi, qui primus mcenia mundi 
Seminibus struxit minimis, inque ilia resolvit : 
E quis et maria et terras et sidera cceli, 
iEtheraque immensis fabricantem flnibus orbes 
Solventemque alios constare; et cuncta reverti 
In sua principia, et rerum mutare figuras. 
Si fors ista dedit nobis fors ipsa gubernet. 
At cur dispositis vicibus consurgere signa, 
Et velut imperio prasscriptos reddere cursus, 
Cernimus; ac nullis properantibus ulla relinqui? 
Cur eadem aestivas exornant sidera noctes 
Semper, et hybernas eadem ? certamque figuram 
Quisque dies reddit mundo, certamque relinquit? 
Jam turn, cum Graise verterunt Pergama gentes, 
Arctos et Orion adversis frontibus ibant : 
Hsec contenta suos in vertice flectere gyros ; 
Ille ex diverso vertentem surgere contra 
Obvius, et notio semper decurrere mundo. 
Temporaque obscuraa noctis deprendere signis 
Jam poterant : ccelumque suas distinxerat horas. 
Quot post excidium Trojaa sunt eruta regna? 



112 NOTES. 

Quot capti populi ! quoties fortuna per orbera 
Servitium, imperiumque tulit, varieque revertit? 
Trojanos cineres in quantum oblita refovit 
Imperium? fatis Asiaa jam Graecia pressa est. 
Ssecula dinumerare piget, quotiesque recurrens 
Lustravit mundum vario sol igneus orbe. 
Omnia mortali mutantur lege creata. 
Nee se cognoscunt terras vertentibus annis. 
At manet incolumis mundus, suaque omnia servat ; 
Quse nee longa dies auget, minuitve senectus; 
Idem semper erit, quoniam semper fuit idem. 
Non alium videre patres, aliumve nepotes 
Aspicient. Deus est, qui non mutatur in aevo. 

(i. 482—530.) 

Page 49. 

397. Ets fxev vtv dp,(f)OTepoicn irocriv Kakos re fieyas re 
'Ydpoxoov 6 8e Kvaveov virb Kj)t60? ovpfj. 

410. But two alone beyond the others shine : 

This on the Fish's jaw — that on the Monster's spine. 

Fomalhaut, (Fumahaut, Grot.) a bright star of the first 
magnitude, lies beneath the feet of Aquarius, at the end of 
the stream which flows from his urn ; and on the lower jaw of 
the Southern Fish, which is turned up with its back to the 
southern pole. 



Page 49. 

399- oXiyoi ye/xev aWot 

Neto0ev To^evrrjpos vivo nporepoKTi Trobecrcn 
AivcoToi kvk\<o 7r€pirjyees elkio-aovrai. 

412. Glitters the forefeet of the Archer near 
The Southern Crown 

It is doubtful whether Aratus in this passage alludes to the 
Southern Crown. 



NOTES. 113 

Cicero renders the passage thus : 
" Hie arise volitant parvo cum liftnine claree, 
Atque priora pedum subeunt vestigia magni 
Arcitenentis, et obscurse sine nomine cadunt." 

Festus Avienus thus: 

" qua se vestigia prima 

Cornipedis simulant, circumvolvuntur Olympo, 
Queis face sub tenui tenebrosus marceat ignis." 

Germanicus thus : 

" Est et sine honore Corona 

Ante Sagittiferi paulum pernicia crura." 

Grotius conjectures that Cicero and Germanicus read dy~ 
vodtoi for ZwuiToi. Manillius does not mention Corona among 
the southern constellations. 

Page 49. 

402. Avrap vri aWofievco Kevrpa repaos /u,eya\oto 
'SKopnlov ayx L votoio Qvrqpiov alcopelTat.. 

415. Where Scorpio to the south his claw expands, 
Burning with constant fire an Altar stands. 

This constellation was undoubtedly a memorial of the altar 
and sacrifice of Noah after the deluge. (Gen. viii. 20 — 22.) The 
fabulous histories always connect it with this period. Eratos- 
thenes says: " It was the altar on which the gods first made a 
covenant after Jupiter had slain the Titans." 

Ipsius hinc mundi templum est, victrixque solutis 

Ara nitet sacris, vastos cum terra gigantas 

In ccelum furibunda tulit ; cum Di quoque magnos 

Qusesivere Deos. Dubitavit Jupiter ipse, 

Quod poterat non posse timens; cum surgere terram 

Cerneret et verti naturam credidit omnem ; 

Montibus atque aliis aggestos crescere montes, 

Et jam vicinas fugientia sidera moles : 

Nee dum hostile sibi quicquam, nee numina norat 



114 NOTES. 

Si qua forent majora suis. Tunc Jupiter Arse 
Sidera constituit, quse nunc quoque maxima fulget. 

(i. 427-439.) 

Page 49. 

404. .Tot) §») toi okiyov p,ev eVt %povov vtyoff eovros 
Tlevcreai' avrnrep-qv ydp aelperai 'ApKrovpoio. 

419. Long as Arcturus o'er the ocean rides, 

So long the darksome wave the Altar hides. 

The Scholiast thus explains the passage : 

' E\a/3e 3e tov 'ApKTovpov, eireiDrj kcu civtos eiri-^/avei tov 
popelov kvkXov rj iroXov, uxrirep tcai to 6vTt]ptov tov dvTapKTiicov, 
Kai €<TTiv oi/tw?' avaTeWei /uera AeovTos o Aoktoi-oo?, Ihov hvo 
to par eiTa. Wapdevos, Ibov o ' etVa Zuyo? Ihov copai r' # eWa 
Skoott/o?, Ihov copai rj '. Kal totc peTci copav oyDorjv to OvTtjpiov 
dvctTeWei, eWa To^oViy?, wpai i' AlyoKepws i{3'' 'YSpovoos ih'* 
eiTa T^0ve?, tapai is~ ' Kai tov QvTrjpiov wpai y\ ' oktco ovv a><oa<? 
Troirjcrav dv€TCti to QvTrjpiov 6 De 'AjOktoujoo? ir' virepyeios pev 
yap ovtos. viroyeiov De ckgivo, kci\ ivavTiov tovtov iropeveTai. 

htO KCl\ TO p.€V 0O.TTOV hvv€l' 6 C~€ jU€«£oi/a9 €V€i TOt? 7r€pl(pOpd<2. 

According to the Scholiast Arcturus is above the horizon six- 
teen hours. When it has reached the meridian at the end of eight 
hours the Altar rises, and sets with it. Hence the one is above 
the horizon sixteen hours and below it eight : the other eight 
hours above and sixteen below. Aratus must have borrowed all 
his statements respecting the constellation of the Altar from some 
Astronomer whose observations were made south of Athens. 
This constellation is not wholly visible at a higher latitude than 
30° north of the equator. 

Page 51. 

* 440. iv be oi airpXf; 

" AKko pdX' 6(T<fii]KG)Ta.i e\ijXdp,evov 8id x €l P° s 
Qrjpiov- <Zs ydp piv irporepov im(fir)p[£avTo. 

455. In his right hand some beast he seems to bear — 
They say, an offering for the Altar near. 



XOTES. 115 

"Eyei 8e na\ ev raT? yep<x\ to Xeyofxevov drjplov, ov iroiovcri 

to cryrj/jLa T6Ta.jfj.evov. Tti/e? £e (pcuriv, cmtkov avTo elvai o'lvov, 

ep ov cnrev^et to?? 0eo?<? e7rl to Ovtt] piov. 

(Schol.) 

To Xeyeiv aXXo dripiov, ov 7rpo? avTOv tov KevTavpov avTi- 

SiecrTeiXev' oltottov yap, dqpiov Xeyeiv tov KevTavpov Xetotoi/a, 

TrdvTiov T&evTavpoov XoyaaTaTov kcu Zikcliotcltov' crAAa irpo's 

dvTihiacrToXrjv tov Skoothou, o? virepKeiTai tov KevTauoou, to 

aXXo drjptov elirev dfxeivov yap outco? anov<rai. 

(Schol.) 



Page 51. 

450. Nai fxr/v <al UpoKvoiv Aidvp.ois vno Kaka. (fiaeivei. 

463. Beneath the Twins the portals of the east 
Dread Procyon bursts ■• 

IlpoKvoDv, Procyon : so called, because he rises before Kvwv, 
Canis, Sirius. 

" Et hie geminis est ille sub ipsis 

Ante-canis Graio Procyon qui nomine fertur." 

(Cic.) 

Hyginus calls this constellation " Minor Canis seu Canicula." 
The bright star (Sirius) in Canis Major was likewise called 
Canicula. 

Exoriturque Canis, latratque Canicula flammas 

Et rabit igne suo geminatque incendia solis. 

(v. 207.) 



Page 51. 

458. Manpol 8e cr(f)eoiv elcr\v eAicrcro/uei/o)!/ epiavrol. 

MaKpa di (rqiiara Kelrai dnoTrpodev els iv eovrcov. 

471. Thousands of ages come — thousands depart — 
Ere all return and meet where once they start. 

AlviTTCTCti ce to elprijxevov vno twv (pvcriKutv (piXocrodxav na\ 
ixavri}xaTiKU)v^ wv o Oo/a/jiooTepo? YlXaTiav ineTvov yap elirov p.eyav 

8—2 



116 NOTES. 

eviavTov, OTav crvvep^wvTai ol £' ovtoi dcrrepes ev evt (^woi(ti, 
vwo ty\v avTtjv ixoipav' totc yap <Tvixirepa<Tjj.a Trjs olKovfxevris 
yiveTai, k<x\ diroXXvTai ovtoi 6 K007XO?. ^vveXQovTvov avTwv, Kat 
iraXiv KivrjdevTiav ex tov avTOv, dvdvevaiv kui kt'htiv elvat koct/jlov 
aXXov e(pa<rav. 'E\|/-»7<£i<7ai/ 3e kcii evpov ylve<rdai £v pvpidcri ttoXXwv 
eviavTcov. "OTav ovv diro tov avTov crrjpeiov €tt\ to avTo (rtj/xeTov 
KaTavTti<T(acnv 01 7rai/Tes, eviavTOS ecrTiv' OTav yap, a<p ov ti? 

dp^rjTai arj/jieiov rj ypovov, €tt\ to avTo iraXiv hxdrj, eviavTO? 

» » 

€<TTIV. 

( Scholiast. ) 



Page 52. 
479. To the high heavens thou lift the starry eye. 

Manillius, describing man as the lord of creation, says: 

" Stetit unus in arcem 

Erectus capitis, victorque ad sidera mittit 

Sidereos oculos " 

(iv. 905.) 

Page 52. 

476. Kelvo 7repiy\r)ves rpo)(aX6v, TaXa piv Kakeovcriv. 
483. The Milky Zone 

Manillius gives a poetical version of the various notions en- 
tertained by the ancients of the milky way, and among them the 
true one, first proposed by Democritus, that it consists of innu- 
merable small stars : 

"Anne magis densa stellarum turba corona 

Contexit flammas, et crasso lumine candet, 

Et fulgore nitet collato clarior orbis?" 

(i.753.) 

In Job xxvi. 13. nii l^J13» " ^p^ liOV ' Ta diroo-Tdrriv" of the 
Septuagint, and "the crooked serpent" of our version, is by R. 
Levi considered to refer to the Milky Way. 



NOTES. 117 



Page 52. 



478. ra de fierpa roaoi mavpoiv nep iovrav 

Ol 8vo' to\ de crcpeoav pkya peioves elki&crovTai. 

487. Round the mid heavens the larger two are bound, 
Nearer the poles the lesser two are found. 

The poet now proceeds to describe the position of four ima- 
ginary circles in the heavens in the following order : the tropic of 
Cancer, the tropic of Capricorn, the Equator, and the Ecliptic. 

Page 54. 

535. fiia Se (rcpewv ivTiv iicao-Tov 
'Etjeirjs imrepOe Karqickvo-ir) avodos re. 
Avrap oy aiceavov toctctov napapei^eTai i>8a>p, 
"Ocrcrov an Alyo/cepfjos dvepxop>evoio p,ahi<TTa 
Kapiclpov els aviovra KvXivderai 

543. The orbits of three circles we have trac'd, 
Directly round the polar axis plac'd: 
The fourth, obliquely running through the sky 
From lowest Capricorn to Cancer high. 

Every circle on the globe described round the pole parallel to 
the equator cuts the horizon at two fixed points, and consequently 
a star apparently describing such a circle always rises and sets 
at precisely the same point in the horizon. But the ecliptic 
described obliquely round the pole cuts the horizon at every 
point between 22 degrees north and 22 degrees south of the 
equator, and the Sun, apparently describing this circle, rises and 
sets at different points in the horizon within these bounds. 

Page 55. 

541. 'Oacrov S' 6<p6aXpolo fiokrjs dnore pjverai avyrj, 

'E^aKis av tockt -qiiiv virodpapor Avrcip cKdarq, 
Icnj p.€Tpr)6ei(ra, 8vco napaTepverai acrrpa. 

559. If we this circle measure in the sky, 

Spanning a sixth part with the human eye, 
Two signs of twelve it can at once embrace, 
Thence to the central eye an equal space. 



118 



NOTES. 



This is, as termed by the Scholiast, To 'Ef d ywvov Sy^ua. If 
an equilateral hexagon be described in a circle each side will cut 
off one sixth or two twelfths of the circle, and will equal the 
radius. The following diagram renders the statement clear. 
Aratus supposes that the eye can at once embrace two signs or 
60 degrees of a great circle in the heavens. 




Page 55. 



556. • • • Toaov 6° eir\ pr/Kos cKacrTq 

Nt/£ aiel Teravva-rat, oaov re 7rep fjpio-v kvkXov 
y Ap%opevr)s cmb vvktos deiperai vyjrodi yairjs. 

579. Black dreary Night now holds extended sway, 
Giving to earth the cold contracted day: 
Now triumphs in his turn the God of light. 

'O Be \oyo5, €K.a.<rTt] vv$j eVt toctovtov prJKOs yu/eTcu, rj toctov- 
tov eyet DidcrTtjpa Ttjs irepicpepeias^ bcrov airo vvktos dp^opevrjs eirai- 
perai Kct\ weptdyeTai pepos tov kvkXov to rjpicrv eire-yov e£ tjutDia' 
olovy el dpyopievris Ttjs vvktos dvciTeXXei Kao/ai/os irep\ irpiOTrjv 
Kai oevTepav iapav, toctovtov e£et DidcrTripa, eoos ov TraXiv eiri hucriv 
eXdq. Kcu dvvcrdevTOs tov tjuiKVKXiov afro KaoKti/ou ew? To£otoi>, 
to irav Trjs vvktos pt)KO<; TeAelrou. 

(Scholiast.) 



NOTES. 119 

One half of the ecliptic is always above and one half below 
the horizon. The length of the night varies and depends upon 
the height above the horizon to which that half of the ecliptic 
will rise which rises at the commencement of night : in the same 
manner as the length of the day depends upon the height above 
the horizon to which that half of the ecliptic rises which rises 
with the Sun. 

"Illius oceano quantum submergitur alto 
Tantum telluris supereminet. Omnibus iste • 
Noctibus illabens pelago sex inserit astra, 
Sex reparat. Tanto nox humida tempore semper 
Tenditur, extulerit quantum se circulus undis." 

(Fest. Avien.) 

Page 56. 

582. o 8* €7rr]v (jideos Kopearjrai, 

Bovkvra eVe^ei 7r\e7ov Si'x a vvktos lovcrrjs, 
^Hfios rjeKioio Karep^opevoio bvrjrai. 

603. Arctophylax, insatiable of light, 

Unwilling seeks the dreary realms of night — 
Above the waves his outstretch'd hand remains, 
Through half the night the struggle he maintains. 

The constellation Bootes is setting for about eight hours, but 
never totally disappears, his hand lying beyond the Arctic circle. 
Hence he may be called insatiable of light, especially when setting 
with the setting sun ; and to struggle against quitting the visible 
heavens for more than half the night. 



Page 59. 

636. *Os Kai enepxofievos (pofieei peyav y €lpla>va. 

660. When Scorpio rises with the bright Antar, 
Orion marks that signal from afar. 

The fabulous accounts of Orion are numerous and various. 
The one adopted by Aratus is this : Orion, a celebrated hunter of 



120 NOTES. 

Greece, was invited by (Enopion, a petty king of Chios, to destroy 
the animals that overran his island, and greatly injured his vine- 
yards. The mighty hunter nearly annihilated the beasts of chase, 
and thus, in poetical language, committed violence upon Diana, 
the Goddess of hunting. Orion was bitten by one of the poisonous 
reptiles with which these islands abounded, and which secreted 
themselves in the crevices of the rocks. Hence the Goddess 
was said to have cleft the earth, and brought forth a monster 
scorpion, which attacked and killed the huntsman. 

Horace makes a slight variation in this fable. According to 

him Orion was slain by an arrow from the bow of the virgin 

huntress : 

" integras 

Tentator Orion Diana? 

Virginea domitus sagitta." 

Homer represents him in the Elysian fields, following the 
same pursuits as he did upon earth : 

Qouoi/ct ireXutpiov elaevotjo-a 

Qijpas Sfxov elXewra kwt d<r<poheXov Xeifxwva' 
Tous clvtos KaTcrreipvev ev oloiroXotcriv 6pecr<ri } 
Xepa-ti/ eywi/ povaXov Tray^aXKeov alev dayes. 

«(Od. xi. 570.) 

Orion was classed by the ancients among the malignant con- 
stellations. He was considered as an originator of storms both at 
his rising and setting. Aristotle says, " 'Qplwvos hvviv, koi dva- 
roXrjv i-apaxiaZr)." To this notion the poets frequently allude : 

Quam subito adsurgens fluctu nimbosus Orion 

In vada eseca tulit. 

(JEn. i. 534.) 

Quam multi Libyco volvuntur marmore fluctus, 

Sasvus ubi Orion hibernis conditur undis. 

(JEn. vii. 718.) 

Nee sidus atra nocte amicum appareat 

Qua tristis Orion cadit. 

(Hor. Ep. x.) 



NOTES. 121 

According to some of the ancient writers Orion never sets. 
This can only be the case to those inhabitants of the globe who 
dwell within about 12 degrees of the North Pole. Virgil seems 
to have adopted this notion : 

Quam magnus Orion, 

Cum pedes incedit medii per maxima Nerei 
Stagna viam scindens, humero supereminet undas. 

(JEn. x. 703.) 

The mistake has arisen from the poets applying to Orion the 
fables relating to Bootes. 



NOTES ON THE DIOSEME1A. 



Page 64. 

20. Tivocxtkcls rdde koI a~v- to. yap avvaeiderai rjbrj 
'EvveaKaideica kvkXci (paeivov 'HeAioto. 

25. These things thou know'st; and ancient men have told, 
And trac'd in sacred characters of gold, 
How Sol and Luna part again to meet 
When the great cycle nineteen years complete. 

At the end of nineteen years the Sun and Moon occupy 
nearly the same places in the Zodiac as each of them did at the 
commencement of that period. Hence all the appearances of the 
moon, in respect to the sun, return at the same places in the 
heavens, and at the same dates of the year. The discovery of 
this cycle is attributed to Meton, who wrote an account of it in 
a book called " Enneadecaterides," to which Aratus alludes. It 
was adopted by the Athenians 433 years before the Christian aera 
to regulate their calendar, and to fix the days of their festivals, 
which depended in a great degree upon the state of the moon. 
They engraved the cycle in letters of gold on the walls of the 
temple of Minerva, and hence the number, which designates the 
year in this cycle, is called the golden number. 

Page 64. 

22- 'Qcrcra t and ^(Ovt]<; els eo-yaxov 'Q,pia>va 
Ni)£ eVifiti/eiTai, Kvva re Bpacrvv 'Slpiavos. 

29. Thou knowest all the stars that night rolls round 
With great Orion, and his rabid hound. 

That is, all the stars which appear throughout the year. The 
ancients commenced the year with the rising of the belt of Orion 
together with the sun ; that is, at the summer solstice. 



NOTES. 123 

" Sed primaeva Meton exordia sumpsit ab anno, 
Torreret rutilo cum Phoebus sidere Cancrum, 
Cingula cum veheret pelagus procul Orionis, 
Et cum cseruleo flagraret Sirius astro." 

(Fest. Avien. 49—50.) 



Page 70. 

160. 2K€7TTeo <al (fiaTvrjv fj fiev t oKlyrj eluvla 
'A^Xvi'. 

183. Phatne, a nebulous bright spot 



Kv To) KapK(i/a) hvo dcTepei el<r\v, ol Ka\ov/j.ei/oi ovot' u>v to 

fxeTa^v to ve(pe\iou, tj (paTvrj KaXov/xevrj. tovto he edv j^cxpui- 

de? yevrjTai, vha.TiK.6v." 

(Theophrast.) 

Again, 

" t] tov bvov (fxxTvrj el crvviaTaTai kcx\ fjxpepa yiveTai, yet- 

fxiava (rrjfxaivei." 

(Theophrast.) 

Page 71. 

177. TZfjfxa, be toi dve/jioio kcu oldatvovcra Oakacraa 
TiyvecrOa). 

200. And as the skies above, the waves below, 
Signs of the rising wind and tempest show. 

" Continuo, ventis surgentibus, aut freta ponti 
Incipiunt agitata tumescere, et aridus altis 
Montibus audiri fragor; aut rosonantia longe 
Litera misceri, et nemorum increbescere murmur. 
Jam sibi turn curvis male temperat unda carinis : 
Quum medio celeres revolant ex agquore mergi, 
Clamoremque ferunt ad litora; quumque marinae 
In sicco ludunt fulicas; notosque paludes 
Deserit, atque altam supra volat Ardea nubem." 

See Virgil, Georgic i. from verse 355 to verse 440. 



124 NOTES. 



Page 71. 



181. Kai §' av em i-rjprjv St epcodtbs ov Kara Kocrpov 
'E£ aXos epxyrai (pwvfj nepi noXka XeXrjKoas. 

20G. When screaming to the land the lone Hern flies, 
And from the crag reiterates her cries. 

'E|00)SiO5. Ardea. The Hern. 

There were, according to Aristotle, three species of Herns: 
Pella, Alba, Stellaris ; the Black, the White, the Speckled. 

The flight of this bird from sea to land is here given as a sign 
of wind. At line 240, its flight from land to sea as a sign of rain. 



Page 71. 

184. Kai nore <a\ iceircpoi, ottot evdioi 7rorecoi/rai, 
'AvrLa fxeXKovTav avefxew elXrjda. (pepovrai. 

208. Breasting the wind in flocks the Seamews sail, 

And smooth their plumes against th' opposing gale. 

" Keir<f><K, Fulica. A white semann with a black cap. Ger- 

manice, ein weyss Mewe." 

(Turner.) 

The Scholiast says, " the Kepphos was a sea-bird, with very 
little flesh, being nearly all bone and feather ; and that it delighted 
in floating on the surf." 

Page 71 . 

186. LToAXaKt d' aypiabes vfja-o-ai 

212 the Wild Ducks soar. 



" N»7TTa, Anas. Anglice, a Duck. Germanice, eyn Endt." 

Plinius : 

" Anates sol*, quaeque sunt ejusdem generis, in sublime sese 
protinus tollunt atque e vestigio ccelum petunt, ethoc etiam aqua." 

(Turner.) 



NOTES. 125 



Page 71. 

186. rj elv akl Blvai 

A'ldviai 

210. And diving Cormorants 

" AWvta, Mergus. Anglice, Cormorant. Germanice, Eyn 
Duecker." 

Aristoteles : 

" Mergus marina avis est, ex piscium venatu victitans, subit 

tamen altius in fluvios." 

(Turner.) 



Page 72. 

216. *H rpv£ei opdivov eprjfiair] oXokvydv. 

248. When at the early dawn from murmuring throat 
Lone Ololygo pours her dismal note. 

There is a great variety of opinions respecting the word Olo- 
lygo. Hyginus renders it " Bubo," an Owl. Avienus latinises 
"Ololygo," by " Ulula." Cicero translates it, " Acredula." 

Saepe etiam pertriste canit de pectore carmen, 
Et matutinis acredula vocibus instat, 
Vocibus instat, et assiduas jacet ore querelas, 
Cum primum gelidos rores aurora remittit. 

Commentators on Cicero doubt whether this word means " a 
wood-lark," or "a nightingale." Grotius quotes the following 
passage from Pliny, and maintains that Ololygo is a species of 
Frog : " Ranis prima (lingua) cohseret, intima absolute a gut- 
ture quum vocem mittunt : Mares turn vocantur Ololygones ; 
stato id tempore evenit cientibus ad coitum fceminas." He con- 
jectures that " Acredula," in the fragment of Cicero, should be 
44 Agredula," according to Isodorus, a tree-frog. 44 Rana parva 
in sicco vel agris commemorans unde et nuncupata." 



126 NOTES. 

We have in Theocritus, who was contemporary with Aratus : 

Tot oe iroTi <TKiepai<i opoha/jivicriv aldaXiwves 
TeTTiyes XaXayevvres eyov irovov d §' oXoXvywv 
TrjXoOev ev irvKivrjcri f3aT(av Tpvfeaicev aKavdais. 

(Id. vii. 138—140.) 

The Scholiast on this passage says, " Ololygo was a bird living 
in woody places." Voss renders it a small species of owl. Others, 
a thrush, or one of the finch tribe. It rather militates against the 
interpretation of Grotius, that both Aratus and Theocritus make 
Ololygo of the feminine gender. I have left the word untrans- 
lated, and the reader must choose between owl, nightingale, 
woodlark, and frog. 

Page 73. 

218. 246. Kopwvri, cornix, a crow; and Ko^af, corvus, 

a raven, according to Turner. 

According to Aratus, it seems that Kopwvt] is a raven, or crow : 
Ko'oaf a crow, or rook. 

Page 73. 

225. koX dOpoov (6<p6ev tovXoi 

Teixr) dvepirovres ,'• 

256. While numerous insects creep along the wall. 

'O 'lovXos cn«aXr)£ €<tti woXvttovs. 

(Schol.) 



Page 75. 

278. " Yepavos" grus, a crane. 

300. " Grues multa prudenter faciunt : loca enim longinqua 
petunt, sui commodi gratia, et alte volant, ut procul prospicere 
possint, et si nubes tempestatemve viderint, conferunt se in terrain." 

(Arist.) (Turner.) 



NOTES. 127 

Page 75. 

292. Km (nrivos rjata amLfav. 

317- When Sparrows ceaseless chirp at dawn of day. 
313. ' ' Spinum Aristotelis grenefincam nostram esse arbitror . ' ' 

(Turner.) 

Avieims translates it, " Fringilla." Hyginus, " Passer." 
Page 76- 

312. YlpivoL cf ov KapTrolo KaraxOees, ovde fieXawai 
331. 2xivoi a7reipr)T0i. 

335. Not signless by the husbandman are seen 
The Ilex, and Lentiscus darkly green. 

Prinos and Schinos, two trees bearing acorns, or nuts of some 
kind. To the latter is applied the epithet " fxeXaivt^" "black," 
and, according to Aratus and Cicero, it produced three crops in 
each year. 

" Jam vero semper viridis semperque gravata 
Lentiscus triplici solita grandescere fcetu, 
Ter fruges fundens tria tempora monstrat arandi." 

" Non hoc quidem qusero, cur haec arbor una ter floreat, aut 

cur arandi maturitatem ad signum floris accommodet. Hoc sum 

contentus, quod, etiam si quo quidque fiat ignorem, quid fiat 

intelligo." 

(Cic. De Divin.) 

Page 76. 

335. Oios eVt crept] Kecraiv eXiVcrerat avrUa 8ivos. 
351. If from the earth the numerous Hornets rise, 
Sweeping a living whirlwind through the skies. 

Aratus adds two other prognostics, one of a severe, the other 
of a mild winter. 

QrjXeiai Se aves, OrjXeia Be fxtj\a, nai aiyes, 

'Ottttot' dva<rTpu>(pu)(riv o'W?, ra he 7' ctppeva iravra 

Ae^a/xei/at -waXiv avris dva(3\t]hr)v o^'wvTai, 



128 NOTES. 

Autw kcu <r(pr]K€a<ri peyav ^eipwva Xeyoiev. 
Oxjse Be piayopevwv cdyiav, p.t]Xu)v t€, (tvwv nre 
Xaipei avoXpos dvrjp, 01 ol ov jxaXa QaXiriowvTi 
Eucuoi/ (palvovcri /3i/3ai6pevat eviavrov. 

Page 79. 

403 kcu yap re kvcov (opvi-aro nocro\v 

'Aptfiorepois, \eipa>vos iirep-^opivoio doKevcov. 

418. Sign too of rain : his outstretch'd feet the Hound 
Extends, and curves his belly to the ground. 

The Scholiast gives upegaro for wpvgaro. 

Page 79. 
405 — 409. Kcu pfjv e£ vSaros, k.t.X. 
420 — 423. Before the storm the Crab, &c. 

" Scholiastes quoque hos versus continuos non agnoscit, quod 
in eo rarum. In Avieno (qui similiter omittit) non perinde in- 
frequens, adeo ut saepe nos referre taeduerit, quoties ille aliquid ex 
Arato praetermittit. Itaque hos versus spurios puto, quales plures 
esse in hoc opere non dubito. Nam de muribus repetit cum paulo 
ante de iis dixerit, quod tamen et alibi de corvo et graculo reperies." 

( Grotius. ) 

Page 80. 

416 • paka apKiov e'irj 

<&pa£eordai (pdtvovTos, i<pi(rTapevoi6 re prjvos 
Terpddas dp<pOTepas 

430. Observe when twice four days she veils her light, 
Nor cheers with silvery ray the dreary night. 

The four days preceding and the four days following that of 
the new moon. 

" 'O he i/ou9, (pvXda-a-ov ra? T€Tpd$a<; -ret? cVo, eVei trepara 
twv hvo prjvuiv e\cr\v dpov (rvvep^opevuiv, ak olov pedopiov uirap- 
yovaa.?, ot€ kcu 6 aldtjp crcpaXepos 6<tti kcu opppo<popo$." 

(Schol.) 



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The Public Economy of Athens. By Professoe Bceckh. Trans- 
lated by G. C. Lewis, A.M., late Student of Christ Church. Octavo, 18Sc 



The New Cratylus; Contributions towards a more Accurate 

Knowledge of the Greek Language. By J. W. Donaldson, B.D., Head Master 
of King Edward's School, Bury St. Edmund's. Octavo, 175. 



Stemmata Atheniensia; Tables of Biography, Chronology, and 

History, to facilitate the Study of the Greek Classics. 5s. 



A Selection from the Greek Verses of Shrewsbury School ; with 

an Account of the Iambic Metre and Style of Greek Tragedy, with Exercises in Greek 
Tragic Senarii. New Edition, in the Press. 



Characteristics of the Greek Philosophers, Socrates and Plato. 

By the Rev. John Philips Potter, A.M., late of Oriel College, Oxford. 45. Qd. 



The Life of Herodotus drawn out from his Book. By Peofessor 

Dahlmann, Translated by G. V. Cox, M.A., Esquire Bedell, Oxford. Post Octavo, 5s. 



A Life of Aristotle, including a Critical Discussion of some 

Questions of Literary History connected with his Works. By the Rev. J. W. Blakes- 
ley, M.A., late Fellow and Tutor of Trinity College, Cambridge. 85. Qd. 



Schleiermacher's Introductions to the Dialogues of Plato ; trans- 
lated by the Rev. W. Dobson, M.A., Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. 125. Qd. 



Travels in the Track of the Ten Thousand Greeks ; a Geogra- 
phical and Descriptive Account of the Expedition of Cyrus and of the Retreat of the 
Ten Thousand, as related by Xenophon. By W. F. Ainsworth, F.G.S., Surgeon to the 
late Euphrates Expedition. Post Octavo, 75. Qd. 



The Classical Museum ; a Journal of Philology, and of Ancient 

History and Literature. Vol. I., 125. Qd.; also Nos. I. to IV., 45. each. 



The Student's Manual of Ancient History; containing the Poli- 
tical History, Geographical Position, and Social State of the Principal Nations of 
Antiquity. 'By W. C. Taylor, LL.D. Fourth Edition, 105. Qd. 



The Student's Manual of Modern History ; The Rise and 

Progress of the Principal European Nations, their Political History, and the Changes in 
their Social Condition. By W. C. Taylor, LL.D. The Fourth Edition. 105. Qd. 






4 Select Works published by John W. Parker. 

... A Lexicon of the Hebrew Language; Containing: A Hebrew 

and English Lexicon, arranged according to the permanent Letters in each Word; An 
English and Hebrew Lexicon ; With a Hebrew Grammar, a Vocabulary for each Chap- 
ter, and a Grammatical Analysis of every Word in the Book of Genesis. Also a Chaldee 
Grammar, a Lexicon of the Chaldee Words in the Old Testament, and Grammatical 
Analysis. By the Rev. T. Jarrett, M.A., Professor of Arabic, Cambridge. Octavo. 



Hebrew Grammar; designed for the use of Schools and Stu- 
dents in the Universities. By the late Christopher Leo, of Cambridge. Octavo. 
125. 6d. 



The Guide of the Hebrew Student; Containing Easy Passages, 

in pure Biblical Hebrew, with Keys and Glossary, for English Learners. By H. Ber- 
nard, Hebrew Teacher in the University of Cambridge. 10s. Qd. 



An Analysis of the Text of the History of Joseph, upon the 

Principles of Professor Lee's Hebrew Grammar. By Alfred Ollivant, D.D., Regius 
Professor of Divinity, Cambridge. Octavo, 6s. 



The Psalms in Hebrew, with a Critical, Exegetical, and Philolo- 
gical Commentary, intended for the use of Students. By G. Phillips, B.D., Fellow and 
Tutor of Queens' College, Cambridge. Two Volumes, Octavo. 325. 



The Book of Solomon, called Ecclesiastes — the Hebrew Text 

and a Latin Version — with Notes, Philological and Exegetical, and a Literal Translation 
from the Rabbinic of the Commentary and Preface of R. Moses Mendlessohn. By the 
Rev. Theodore Preston, M.A., Fellow of Trinity College. Octavo, 155. 



A Practical Arabic Grammar. By Duncan Stewart, 

Octavo, 165. 



The Elements of Syriac Grammar. By G. Phillips, B.D., 

Fellow and Tutor of Queens' College, Cambridge. Second Editions, with Additions. 
Octavo, 105. 



The Chaldee Text of Daniel V., and the Syriac of Saint Mat- 
thew, VI. Analyzed; for the use of Students. By the Rev. T. R. Brown, M.A. Octavo, 
3s. 6d. 



Parker's Catalogue of Books, in all branches of Education 

including those published under the sanction of the Committee of Council on Education 
and the Publications of the Committee on General Literature and Education appointee 
by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, may be had on application. 



LBJ a '21 



